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MACAU! A 

LAYS 'OF 



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LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 




T. B. MACAULAY 



MACAULAY'S 



LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 



Edited 
With Introduction and Notes 

by 
MOSES GRANT DANIELL 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 

1899 



3 






A 



27355 



Copyright, 1899 
By GINN & COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 







V %3^ — 



PREFACE 



In preparing notes for this edition of the Lays, the editor 
has had in mind chiefly the needs of the non-classical student, 
to whom the text presents much that he is not at all familiar 
with. What any reader needs, in order to derive the greatest 
satisfaction from the reading, is a clear appreciation of the 
circumstances and situations as they might appear to a Roman 
for whom the Lays are assumed to have been written. To 
go further than this, and make the Lays a basis for the 
extended study of Roman history, geography, mythology, 
and antiquities, would, in the editor's opinion, be a mistake. 
The author deemed his own introductions to the several 
Lays to be sufficient; but these take for granted a certain 
amount of knowledge that young readers cannot fairly be 
assumed to possess ; and even the customary explanatory 
notes, unless inordinately extended, leave something to be 
desired. One needs to read at some length the accounts 
that historians have given of Rome in the early days, in 
order to surround himself with the right atmosphere, so to 
speak, in which to read the Lays with the keenest apprecia- 
tion. Any good history of Rome that has a good index 
may be used for the purpose here indicated. 

The editor has not often yielded to the ever-present tempta- 
tion to give the meanings of words that can be found in a 
dictionary. Some such words need additional explanation 
or illustration, but in general the student should learn to 
depend upon his own research. 



iv PRE FA CE. 

A map of Etruria and Latium and parts adjacent and a 
map of early Rome have been provided, with the idea that it 
is well for the reader to associate a " local habitation " with 
the names that he encounters, and that maps are better than 
notes for this purpose. Places not to be found in the maps 
are referred to in the notes. 

The texts of the early editions and of several later editions, 
English and American, have been carefully collated. It was 
with much hesitation that the editor ventured to make essen- 
tial changes in the original punctuation, which has been 
followed in most of the subsequent editions that he has 
examined. He decided to make them, however, in the con- 
viction that a system of punctuation more in accordance with 
present usage in this country would make the reading easier. 
A similar explanation may be made of a few changes in 
spelling. 

A pronouncing vocabulary of proper names (according to 
the English method) will, it is hoped, be found useful to many 
readers. 

The editor gratefully acknowledges his obligations to Mr. 
William Tappan for valuable criticisms and suggestions. 

M. G. D. 

January, 1899. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Introduction .......... vii 

Author's Preface 3 

Horatius 27 

The Battle of the Lake Regillus 53 

Virginia 87 

The Prophecy of Capys 109 

Notes 125 

Pronouncing Vocabulary 143 

MAPS. 

Etruria, Latium, etc. 2 

Rome under the Kings 26 



INTRODUCTION. 



Thomas Babington Macaulay, son of Zachary Macaulay, 
an eminent philanthropist, was born Oct. 25, 1800, at Rothley 
Temple, Leicestershire, England. He was graduated at 
Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1822, and in 1824. was elected 
a Fellow of Trinity, remaining there till 1825. He entered 
Parliament in 1830. In 1834 he was made a member of the 
Supreme Council of India, and soon proceeded to Calcutta, 
where he remained till 1838. He*was again elected to Par- 
liament in 1839, appointed War-secretary in 1840, and Pay- 
master-general in 1846. In 1847 he was defeated in his 
canvass for Parliament, but was re-elected in 1852. In 1857 
he was raised to the peerage of Great Britain under the title 
of Baron Macaulay of Rothley. He died Dec. 28, 1859, at 
his residence, Holly Lodge, London, and was buried in 
Westminster Abbey in the "Poets' Corner." 

In his earliest childhood Macaulay gave evidence of the 
remarkable intellectual gifts with which nature had endowed 
him, and of his decided bent towards literary pursuits. Be- 
fore he was eight years old he had written a Compendium, of 
Universal History and a romance entitled The Battle of 
Cheviot. A little later he composed poems of great length. 
These juvenile productions are said to have been creditable 
performances for one of his age, or, as Hannah More said of 
some hymns that he had composed, " quite extraordinary for 
such a baby." They are mentioned here only to show how 
early his mental activity began to display itself. 



viii INTRODUCTION. 

At college he acquired a brilliant reputation as a scholar 
and debater, though he did not reach the highest college 
rank on account of his dislike of mathematical studies. He 
twice received the Chancellor's medal for excellence in Eng- 
lish verse. 

At the age of twenty-six he was admitted to the bar ; but 
after a year or two he found that the law was not his voca- 
tion, and soon abandoned it altogether. Meanwhile fame 
was coming to him from other directions. In 1825 his first 
contribution to the Edinburgh Revieiu, the essay on Milton, 
appeared, and it at once became evident that a new star had 
risen on the literary horizon. He continued to write for the 
Review for nearly twenty years, during which time appeared 
the celebrated essays on Lord Bacon, Bunyan, Lord Clive, 
Warren Hastings, and others, all marked by the same pro- 
fundity of learning, the same wealth and aptness of illustra- 
tion, the same brilliancy of fancy, the same critical acumen, 
and the same felicities of style that characterized his first 
effort. 

In his political career Macaulay was an ardent Whig; but 
he never sacrificed his convictions of what was right to mere 
expediency or to popular clamor. It was his independence 
that cost him his seat in Parliament in 1847. In Parliament 
he was a skilful and ready debater, and his reputation as an 
exceptionally brilliant orator always attracted crowds of eager 
listeners whenever it was known that he was to speak. 

His services in India were of great value to the govern- 
ment and to the people of that country. He drafted a penal 
code, which, after much discussion and revision, became the 
code under which criminal law is now administered through- 
out the Indian empire. He also set on foot a system of 
national education, which has since spread over the whole 
of India. 

The History of E?igland was to be the crowning work of 



INTR ODUC TION. ix 

Macaulay's life, and that upon which his fame should chiefly 
rest. He gradually gave up all thought of further political 
preferment, devoting the last years of his life almost exclu- 
sively to the immense labor involved in the prosecution of 
this work. Unfortunately, he lived to complete only five 
volumes. When the first two volumes were issued, in 1848, 
they were received with remarkable enthusiasm on both sides 
of the Atlantic. In fact, no similar work had ever met with 
such a reception. 

In the height of his fame as a statesman, orator, and 
writer, Macaulay achieved also great social distinction, for 
to his other accomplishments he added that of being a very 
entertaining converser and story-teller. " His family break- 
fast table was covered with cards of invitation to dinner from 
every quarter of London." 

He was altogether charming in his domestic relations. He 
was never married, but seemed to live for his sister Hannah, 
to whom he was devotedly attached, and whose children he 
treated as his own. 

No account of Macaulay, however brief, is complete with- 
out mention of his prodigious memory. He seemed to 
remember without effort everything that he had ever read 
or heard, even to the minutest details. "At one period of 
his life he was known to say that, if by some miracle of van- 
dalism all copies of Paradise Lost and The Pilgrim's Progress 
were destroyed off the face of the earth, he would undertake 
to reproduce them both from recollection whenever a revival 
of learning came." 1 Even towards the end of his life he 
would sometimes devote his leisure hours to testing his 
memory. " I walked in the portico," he writes in October, 
1857, "and learned by heart the noble Fourth Act of the 
Merchant of Venice. There are four hundred lines, of which 
I knew a hundred and fifty. I made myself perfect master 
1 Life and Letters, vol. i, p. 52. 



x INTRODUCTION. 

of the whole, the prose letter included, in two hours." * On 
one occasion, in answer to a friendly challenge to a feat of 
memory, he drew off at once a full list of the Senior Wranglers 
at Cambridge, with their dates and colleges, for the hundred 
years during which the names of Senior Wranglers had been 
recorded in the University Calendar. 

Through all his varied career he never ceased to keep up 
his acquaintance with classic literature. Even in the midst 
of the turmoil of political life and the incessant demands of 
official position, he found time to read again and again the 
works that most men close forever when they leave college. 

In his correspondence and in his journal he makes 
frequent reference to this habit, as, for example : " Calcutta, 
Dec. 30, 1835. . . . During the last thirteen months I 
have read ^Eschylus twice ; Sophocles twice ; Euripides once ; 
Pindar twice ; Callimachus ; Apollonius Rhodius ; Quintus 
Calaber; Theocritus twice; Herodotus; Thucydides; almost 
all Xenophon's works; almost all Plato; Aristotle's Politics, 
and a good deal of his Organon, — besides dipping elsewhere 
in him ; the whole of Plutarch's Lives; about half of Lucian; 
two or three books of Athenaeus; Plautus twice; Terence 
twice; Lucretius twice ; Catullus; Tibullus; Propertius; Lu- 
can; Statius; Silius Italicus; Livy; Velleius Paterculus; Sal- 
lust; Caesar; and, lastly, Cicero. 2 

Macaulay's purpose in writing the Lays he has fully ex- 
plained in the preface. A few additional statements and 
remarks about them are worth quoting. Writing to the 
editor of the Edinburgh Review in July, 1842, he says : " You 
are acquainted, no doubt, with Perizonius's theory about the 
early Roman history, — a theory which Niebuhr revived, and 
which Arnold 3 has adopted as fully established. I have 
myself not the smallest doubt of its truth. It is that the 

1 Life and Letters, vol. i, p. 448. 2 Ibid., p. 443. 

3 Dr. Thomas Arnold of Rugby. 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

stories of the birth of Romulus and Remus, the fight of the 
Horatii and Curiatii, and all the other romantic tales which 
fill the first three or four books of Livy, came from the lost 
ballads of the early Romans. I amused myself in India with 
trying to restore some of these long-perished poems. Arnold 
saw two of them and wrote to me in such terms of eulogy 
that I have been induced to correct and complete them. 
There are four of them, and I think that, though they are but 
trifles, they may pass for scholarlike and not inelegant trifles. 
I must prefix short prefaces to them, and I think of publish- 
ing them next November in a small volume." 1 

The following extract from a letter to the same person, 
written Nov. 16, 1842, after the Lays had been published, 
shows something of his own opinion regarding them : " I am 
glad that you like my Lays, and the more glad because I 
know that, from good-will to me, you must have been anxious 
about their fate. I do not wonder at your misgivings. I 
should have felt similar misgivings if I had learned that any 
person, however distinguished by talents and knowledge, 
whom I knew as a writer only by prose works, was about 
to publish a volume of poetry. Had I seen advertised a 
poem by Mackintosh, by Dugald Stewart, or even by Burke, 
I should have augured nothing but failure ; and I am far 
from putting myself on a level even with the least of the 
three. So much the better for me. Where people look for 
no merit, a little merit goes a long way ; and, without the 
smallest affectation of modesty, I confess that the success of 
my little book has far exceeded its just claims. I shall be in 
no hurry to repeat the experiment; for I am well aware that 
a second attempt would be made under much less favorable 
circumstances. A far more severe test would now be applied 
to my verses. I shall, therefore, like a wise gamester, leave 
oft while I am a winner, and not cry Double or Quits." 2 
1 Life and Letters, vol. ii, p. 112. 2 Ibid., p. 122. 



x ii INTR OD UC TION. 

In his journal, under date Sept. 9, 1850, he writes: "Those 
poems have now been eight years published. They still sell, 
and seem still to give pleasure. I do not rate them high ; 
but I do not remember that any better poetry has been 
published since." 1 

The remarkable popularity of the Lays from the very first 
shows that Macaulay struck a responsive chord in the hearts 
of old and young alike. They were received with the warm- 
est praise not only by the public but by the reviewers, only 
now and then one finding serious fault with them. Some 
later critics, however, have gone so far as to assert that 
Macaulay was no poet — that the Lays are not poetry; but 
no amount of hostile criticism, not even the great name of 
Matthew Arnold, seems to lessen the favor in which they are 
still held. 

The following passages, quoted from various sources, will 
be of interest to the student. 

"You are very right in admiring Macaulay, who has a 
noble, clear, metallic note in his soul, and makes us ready 
by it for battle. I very much admire Mr. Macaulay, and 
could scarcely read his ballads and keep lying down. They 
seemed to draw me up to my feet, as the mesmeric powers 
are said to do." 2 

" It is the great merit of these poems that they are free 
from ambition or exaggeration. Nothing seems overdone — 
no tawdry piece of finery disfigures the simplicity of the plan 
that has been chosen. They seem to have been framed with 
great artistical skill — with much self-denial and abstinence 
from anything incongruous — and with a very successful imi- 
tation of the effects intended to be represented. Set every 

1 Life and Letters, vol. ii, p. 282. 

2 Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, addressed to Richard Hengist 
Horjie, vol. i, p. 1 01. 



INTRODUCTION. xiii 

here and there, images of beauty and expressions of feeling 
are thrown out that are wholly independent of Rome or the 
Romans, and that appeal to the widest sensibilities of the 
human heart. In point of homeliness of thought and lan- 
guage, there is often a boldness which none but a man con- 
scious of great powers of writing would have ventured to 
show." 1 

" . . . the pinchbeck Roman ballads of Lord Macaulay." 

" Let me frankly say that, to my mind, a man's power to 

detect the ring of false metal in those Lays is a good measure 

of his fitness to give an opinion about poetical matters at 

all." 2 

" The merits of Macaulay's poetry are similar to his prose, 
except that his verse is characterized by more imagination. 
The same living energy, however, animates both. He is a 
man of the most extensive acquirements, possessing the 
power of representing his knowledge in magnificent pictures. 
He has a quick sympathy with whatever addresses the 
passions and the fancy, and a truly masculine mind. His 
style alternates between copiousness and condensation, and 
the transitions are contrived with consummate skill. The 
most brilliant and rapid of all contemporary writers, his 
poetry is an array of strong thoughts and glittering fancies 
bounding along on a rushing stream of feeling. It has 
almost the appearance of splendid impromptu composi- 
tion. The ' Lay ' of ' Virginia ' contains some exquisite 
delineations of the affections, full of natural pathos and a 
certain serene beauty, somewhat different from Macaulay's 
usual martial tone." 3 

1 Professor Wilson, in Blackwood' 's Magazine, vol. Hi, p. 802. 

2 Matthew Arnold, in On Translating Homer. 

3 E. P. Whipple, in Essays and Reviews, vol. i, p. 340 (1848). 



xi V TNTR OD UC TION. 

" In them [the Roman ballads] are repeated all the merits 
and all the defects of the Essays. The men and women are 
mere enumerations of qualities; the battle-pieces are masses 
of uncombined incidents: but the characteristics of the periods 
treated have been caught and reproduced with perfect accu- 
racy. The setting of Horatius, which belongs to the earliest 
days of Rome, is totally different from the setting of the 
Prophecy of Capys, which belongs to the time when Rome 
was fast acquiring the mastery over Italy; and in each case 
the setting is studiously and remarkably exact. In these 
poems, again, there is the same prodigious learning, the same 
richness of illustration, which distinguish the Essays ; and 
they are adorned with a profusion of metaphor and aptness 
of epithets which is most admirable." 1 

"And he knows, too, how to stir the blood of the average 
Englishman. He understands most thoroughly the value of 
concentration, unity, and simplicity. Every speech or essay 
forms an artistic whole, in which some distinct moral is vigor- 
ously driven home by a succession of downright blows. 
This strong rhetorical instinct is shown conspicuously in the 
Lays of Ancient Rome, which, whatever we may say of them 
as poetry, are an admirable specimen of rhymed rhetoric. 
We know how good they are when we see how incapable are 
modern ballad-writers in general of putting the same swing 
and fire into their verses. Compare, for example, Aytoun's 
Lays of the Cavaliers, as the most obvious parallel : — 

Not swifter pours the avalanche 

Adown the steep incline, 
That rises o'er the parent springs 

Of rough and rapid Rhine, 

1 John Bach McMaster, in Library of the World's Best Literature, 
vol. xvi, p. 9384. 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

than certain Scotch heroes over an entrenchment. Place 
this mouthing by any parallel passage in Macaulay: — 

Now, by our sire Ouirinus, 

It was a goodly sight 
To see the thirty standards 

Swept down the tide of flight. 

So flies the spray in Adria 

When the black squall doth blow. 

So corn-sheaves in the flood time 
Spin down the whirling Po. 

And so on, in verses which innumerable schoolboys of infe- 
rior pretensions to Macaulay's know by heart. And in such 
cases the verdict of the schoolboy is perhaps more valuable 
than that of the literary connoisseur. There are, of course, 
many living poets who can do tolerably something of far 
higher quality which Macaulay could not do at all. But I 
don't know who, since Scott, could have done this particular 
thing. Possibly Mr. Kingsley might have approached it, or 
the poet, if he would have condescended so far, who sang 
the bearing of the good news from Ghent to Aix. In any 
case, the feat is significant of Macaulay's true power. It 
looks easy; it involves no demands upon the higher reason- 
ing or imaginative powers: but nobody will believe it to be 
easy who observes the extreme rarity of a success in a feat 
so often attempted." 1 

"The chorus of enthusiastic applause with which the Lays 
were received — Macaulay's veteran adversary, Christopher 
North, shouting with the loudest, — has not, perhaps, been 
uniformly echoed by the critics of latter days; but with the 
far more important audience which lies outside the little 
circle of self-appointed judges and accepts their judgments 
1 Leslie Stephen, in Hours in a library, vol. ii, p. 369. 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

only when it agrees with them, they have never lost their 
popularity. Every schoolboy knows them, to use a favorite 
phrase of Macaulay's own, though schoolboys are not usually 
partial to poetry; but to the minstrelsy of Scott or Macaulay 
— it is much to mention them together — no healthy-minded 
boy refuses to listen, nor should we think much of the boy 
who could not declaim some of the fiery sentences of Icilius, 
or describe exactly the manner of the death of Ocnus or 
Aruns, Seius or Lausulus. Of older readers it is less neces- 
sary to speak, as he who has known Macaulay's Lays in his 
childhood has no occasion to refer to them again. There is 
an unfading charm in the swing and vigor of the lines, which 
bring to our ears the very sound of the battle, the clash of 
steel and the rushing of the horses, ' the noise of the cap- 
tains and the shouting.' ' A cut and thrust style,' Wilson 
called it, 'without any flourish — Scott's style when his 
blood was up and the first words came like a vanguard 
impatient for battle.' The praise is scarcely extravagant." 1 

1 Mrs. Oliphant, in The Victorian Age of English Literature, vol. i, 
p. 174. 



MACAULAY'S 
LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 




PART OF CENTRAL ITALY. 
(Etruria, Latium, etc.) 



LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



PREFACE. 1 

That what is called the history of the Kings and early 
Consuls of Rome is to a great extent fabulous, few scholars 
have, since the time of Beaufort, ventured to deny. It is 
certain that, more than three hundred and sixty years after 
the date ordinarily assigned for the foundation of the city, 5 
the public records were, with scarcely an exception, de- 
stroyed by the Gauls. It is certain that the oldest annals 
of the commonwealth were compiled more than a century 
and a half after this destruction of the records. It is cer- 
tain, therefore, that, the great Latin writers of the Augus- 10 
tan age did not possess those materials without which 
a trustworthy account of the infancy of the republic could 
not possibly be framed. Those writers own, indeed, that 
the chronicles to which they had access were filled with 
battles that were never fought and Consuls that were never 15 
inaugurated ; and we have abundant proof that, in these 
chronicles, events of the greatest importance, such as the 
issue of the war with Porsena and the issue of the war with 
Brennus, were grossly misrepresented. Under these cir- 
cumstances, a wise man will look with great suspicion on 20 
the legend which has come down to us. He will perhaps 
be inclined to regard the princes who are said to have 

1 This is Macaulay's general introduction to the Lays. 
3 



4 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

founded the civil and religious institutions of Rome, the 
son of Mars and the husband of Egeria, as mere mytho 
logical personages, of the same class with Perseus and 
Ixion. As he draws nearer and nearer to the confines 
5 of authentic history, he will become less and less hard of 
belief. He will admit that the most important parts of 
the narrative have some foundation in truth. But he will 
distrust almost all the details, not only because they sel- 
dom rest on any solid evidence, but also because he will 

10 constantly detect in them, even when they are within the 
limits of physical possibility, that peculiar character, more 
easily understood than defined, which distinguishes the 
creations of the imagination from the realities of the world 
in which we live. 

1 5 The early history of Rome is indeed far more poetical 
than anything else in Latin literature. The loves of the 
Vestal and the God of War, the cradle laid among the 
reeds of Tiber, the fig-tree, the she-wolf, the shepherd's 
cabin, the recognition, the fratricide, the rape of the 

20 Sabines, the death of Tarpeia, the fall of Hostus Hostil- 
ius, the struggle of Mettus Curtius through the marsh, 
the women rushing with torn raiment and dishevelled 
hair between their fathers and their husbands, the nightly 
meetings of Numa and the Nymph by the well in the 

25 sacred grove, the fight of the three Romans and the three 
Albans, the purchase of the Sibylline books, the crime of 
Tullia, the simulated madness of Brutus, the ambiguous 
reply of the Delphian oracle to the Tarquins, the wrongs 
of Lucretia, the heroic actions of Horatius Codes, of 

30 Scaevola, and of Clcelia, the battle of Regillus won by 
the aid of Castor and Pollux, the defence of Cremera, 
the touching story of Coriolanus, the still more touching 
story of Virginia, the wild legend about the draining of 
the Alban lake, the combat between Valerius Corvus and 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 5 

the gigantic Gaul, are among the many instances which 
will at once suggest themselves to every reader. 

In the narrative of Livy, who was a man of fine imag- 
ination, these stories retain much of their genuine char- 
acter. Nor could even the tasteless Dionysius distort 5 
and mutilate them into mere prose. The poetry shines, 
in spite of him, through the dreary pedantry of his eleven 
books. It is discernible in the most tedious and in the 
most superficial modern works on the early times of Rome. 
It enlivens the dulness of the Universal History, and gives 10 
a charm to the most meagre abridgments of Goldsmith. 

Even in the age of Plutarch there were discerning men 
who rejected the popular account of the foundation of 
Rome, because that account appeared to them to have 
the air, not of a history, but of a romance or a drama. 15 
Plutarch, who was displeased at their incredulity, had 
nothing better to say in reply to their arguments than 
that chance sometimes turns poet, and produces trains 
of events not to be distinguished from the most elaborate 
plots which are constructed by art. 1 But though the exist- 20 
ence of a poetical element in the early history of the 
Great City was detected so many years ago, the first critic 
who distinctly saw from what source that poetical element 
had been derived was James Perizonius, one of the most 
acute and learned antiquaries of the seventeenth century. 25 
His theory, which in his own days attracted little or no 

^'Tttotttov jxev eviois earl to SpafxariKdv Kal ir\a<T[AaTu>5es • ov dei 8£ 
diri<TT€?v, tt]v ti>xv v bpuvras, oiiov TroLffiiOLTWv drj/uovpyos €<JTl. — Pint. 
Rom. viii. This remarkable passage has been more grossly misin- 
terpreted than any other in the Greek language, where the sense 
was so obvious. The Latin version of Cruserius, the French version 
of Amyot, the old English version by several hands, and the later 
English version by Langhorne, are all equally destitute of every trace 
of the meaning of the original. None of the translators saw even 
that Troirjfxa is a poem. They all render it an event. 



6 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

notice, was revived in the present generation by Niebuhr, 
a man who would have been the first writer of his time, 
if his talent for communicating truths had borne any pro- 
portion to his talent for investigating them. That theory 
5 has been adopted by several eminent scholars of our own 
country, particularly by the Bishop of St. David's, by Pro- 
fessor Maiden, and by the lamented Arnold. It appears 
to be now generally received by men conversant with 
classical antiquity ; and indeed it rests on such strong 

10 proofs, both internal and external, that it will not be 
easily subverted. A popular exposition of this theory, 
and of the evidence by which it is supported, may not be 
without interest even for readers who are unacquainted 
with the ancient languages. 

15 The Latin literature which has come down to us is of 
later date than the commencement of the Second Punic 
War, and consists almost exclusively of works fashioned 
on Greek models. The Latin metres, heroic, elegiac, lyric, 
and dramatic, are of Greek origin. The best Latin epic 

20 poetry is the feeble echo of the Iliad and Odyssey. The 
best Latin eclogues are imitations of Theocritus. The 
plan of the most finished didactic poem in the Latin 
tongue was taken from Hesiod. The Latin tragedies are 
bad copies of the masterpieces of Sophocles and Eurip- 

25 ides. The Latin comedies are free translations from 
Demophilus, Menander, and Apollodorus. The Latin 
philosophy was borrowed, without alteration, from the Por- 
tico and the Academy ; and the great Latin orators con- 
stantly proposed to themselves as patterns the speeches 

30 of Demosthenes and Lysias. 

But there was an earlier Latin literature, a literature 
truly Latin, which has wholly perished, which had, indeed, 
almost wholly perished long before those whom we are in 
the habit of regarding as the greatest Latin writers were 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 7 

born. That literature abounded with metrical romances, 
such as are found in every country where there is much 
curiosity and intelligence, but little reading and writing. 
All human beings not utterly savage long for some infor- 
mation about past times, and are delighted by narratives 5 
which present pictures to the eye of the mind. But it 
is only in very enlightened communities that books are 
readily accessible. Metrical composition, therefore, which 
in a highly civilized nation is a mere luxury, is in nations 
imperfectly civilized almost a necessary of life, and is 10 
valued less on account of the pleasure which it gives to 
the ear than on account of the help which it gives to the 
memory. A man who can invent or embellish an interest- 
ing story, and put it into a form which others may easily 
retain in their recollection, will always be highly esteemed 15 
by a people eager for amusement and information, but 
destitute of libraries. Such is the origin of ballad-poetry, 
a species of composition which scarcely ever fails to spring 
up and flourish in every society at a certain point in the 
progress towards refinement. Tacitus informs us that 20 
songs were the only memorials of the past which the 
ancient Germans possessed. We learn from Lucan and 
from Ammianus Marcellinus that the brave actions of the 
ancient Gauls were commemorated in the verses of Bards. 
During many ages, and through many revolutions, min- 25 
strelsy retained its influence over both the Teutonic and 
the Celtic race. The vengeance exacted by the spouse 
of Attila for the murder of Siegfried was celebrated in 
rhymes, of which Germany is still justly proud. The 
exploits of Athelstane were commemorated by the Anglo- 30 
Saxons, and those of Canute by the Danes, in rude poems, 
of which a few fragments have come down to us. The 
chants of the Welsh harpers preserved, through ages of 
darkness, a faint and doubtful memory of Arthur. In 



8 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

the Highlands of Scotland may still be gleaned some 
relics of the old songs about Cuthullin and Fingal. The 
long struggle of the Servians against the Ottoman power 
was recorded in lays full of martial spirit. We learn from 
5 Herrera that, when a Peruvian Inca died, men of skill 
were appointed to celebrate him in verses, which all the 
people learned by heart and sang in public on days of 
festival. The feats of Kurroglou, the great freebooter 
of Turkistan, recounted in ballads composed by himself, 

10 are known in every village of Northern Persia. Captain 
Beechey heard the Bards of the Sandwich Islands recite 
the heroic achievements of Tamehameha, the most illus- 
trious of their kings. Mungo Park found in the heart of 
Africa a class of singing-men, the only annalists of their 

15 rude tribes, and heard them tell the story of the victory 
which Darnel, the negro prince of the Jaloffs, won over 
Abdulkader, the Mussulman tyrant of Foota Torra. This 
species of poetry attained a high degree of excellence 
among the Castilians before they began to copy Tuscan 

20 patterns. It attained a still higher degree of excellence 
among the English and the Lowland Scotch during the 
fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. But it 
reached its full perfection in ancient Greece ; for there 
can be no doubt that the great Homeric poems are gener- 

25 ically ballads, though widely distinguished from all other 
ballads, and indeed from almost all other human com- 
positions, by transcendent sublimity and beauty. 

As it is agreeable to general experience that, at a cer- 
tain stage in the progress of society, ballad-poetry should 

30 flourish, so is it also agreeable to general experience that, 
at a subsequent stage in the progress of society, ballad- 
poetry should be undervalued and neglected. Knowledge 
advances ; manners change ; great foreign models of com- 
position are studied and imitated. The phraseology of 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 9 

the old minstrels becomes obsolete. Their versification, 
which, having received its laws only from the ear, abounds 
in irregularities, seems licentious and uncouth. Their 
simplicity appears beggarly when compared with the 
quaint forms and gaudy coloring of such artists as Cowley 5 
and Gongora. The ancient lays, unjustly despised by 
the learned and polite, linger for a time in the memory of 
the vulgar, and are at length too often irretrievably lost. 
We cannot wonder that the ballads of Rome should have 
altogether disappeared, when we remember how very nar- 10 
rowly, in spite of the invention of printing, those of our 
own country and those of Spain escaped the same fate. 
There is indeed little doubt that oblivion covers many 
English songs equal to any that were published by Bishop 
Percy, and many Spanish songs as good as the best of 15 
those which have been so happily translated by Mr. 
Lockhart. Eighty years ago England possessed only one 
tattered copy of Childe Waters and Sir Caaline, and Spain 
only one tattered copy of the noble poem of The Cid. 
The snuff of a candle, or a mischievous dog, might in a 20 
moment have deprived the world forever of any of those 
fine compositions. Sir Walter Scott, who united to the 
fire of a great poet the minute curiosity and patient dili- 
gence of a great antiquary, was but just in time to save 
the precious relics of the Minstrelsy of the Border. In 25 
Germany, the lay of the Nibelungs had been long utterly 
forgotten, when, in the eighteenth century, it was for the 
first time printed from a manuscript in the old library of 
a noble family. In truth, the only people who, through 
their whole passage from simplicity to the highest civili- 3° 
zation, never for a moment ceased to love and admire 
their old ballads, were the Greeks. 

That the early Romans should have had ballad-poetry, 
and that this poetry should have perished, is therefore not 



10 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

strange. It would, on the contrary, have been strange if 
these things had not come to pass; and we should be 
justified in pronouncing them highly probable, even if 
we had no direct evidence on the subject. But we have 
5 direct evidence of unquestionable authority. 

Ennius, who flourished in the time of the Second Punic 
War, was regarded in the Augustan age as the father of 
Latin poetry. He was, in truth, the father of the second 
school of Latin poetry, the only school of which the works 

io have descended to us. But from Ennius himself we learn 
that there were poets who stood to him in the same rela- 
tion in which the author of the romance of Count Alarcos 
stood to Garcilaso, or the author of the Lytell Geste of 
Robyn Hode to Lord Surrey. Ennius speaks of verses 

15 which the Fauns and the Bards were wont to chant in the 
old time, when none had yet studied the graces of speech, 
when none had yet climbed the peaks sacred to the God- 
desses of Grecian song. "Where," Cicero mournfully 
asks, " are those old verses now ? " x 

1 ' Quid ? Nostri veteres versus ubi sunt ? 
..." Quos olim Fauni vatesque canebant 
Cum neque Musarum scopulos quisquam superarat, 
Nee dicti studiosus erat." ' ^^ ^ 

The Muses, it should be observed, are Greek divinities. The Italian 
Goddesses of verse were the Camoenae. At a later period the appella- 
tions were used indiscriminately ; but in the age of Ennius there was 
probably a distinction. In the epitaph of Naevius, who was the rep- 
resentative of the old Italian school of poetry, the Camoense, not the 
Muses, are represented as grieving for the loss of their votary. The 
' Musarum scopuli ' are evidently the peaks of Parnassus. 

Scaliger, in a note on Varro (De Lingua Latijia, lib. vi.), suggests, 
with great ingenuity, that the Fauns, who were represented by the 
superstition of later ages as a race of monsters, half gods and half 
brutes, may really have been a class of men who exercised in Latium, 
at a very remote period, the same functions which belonged to the 
Magians in Persia and to the Bards in Gaul. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 11 

Contemporary with Ennius was Quintus Fabius Pictor, 
the earliest of the Roman annalists. His account of the 
infancy and youth of Romulus and Remus has been pre- 
served by Dionysius, and contains a very remarkable refer- 
ence to the ancient Latin poetry. Fabius says that, in 5 
his time, his countrymen were still in the habit of singing 
ballads about the Twins. "Even in the hut of Faustulus," 

— so these old lays appear to have run, — " the children of 
Rhea and Mars were, in port and in spirit, not like unto 
swineherds or cowherds, but such that men might well 10 
guess them to be of the blood of Kings and Gods." 1 

1 Ot 8e avdpvdePTes yivovrai, Kard re d^iuxjiv /xop(prjs Kal (ppoprifiaros 
oyKOv, ov crvocpopfio'ts Kal j3ovk6\ois ecu/cores, dXX' o'iovs dv tls d£ia><reie 
roi/s €K /SacriXetou re (pvvras ytvovs, Kal airb 8aip.6i>a)v airopas yeveadai 
vop.i£op.€i>ovs, cJs ev rots TTCLTpioiS V/HVOLS VTTO ' PfatylCuW en Kal vvv aScTCU. 

— Dion. Hal. i. 79. This passage has sometimes been cited as if 
Dionysius had been speaking in his own person, and had, Greek as 
he was, been so industrious or so fortunate as to discover some 
valuable remains of that early Latin poetry which the greatest Latin 
writers of his age regretted as hopelessly lost. Such a supposition 
is highly improbable ; and indeed it seems clear from the context 
that Dionysius, as Reiske and other editors evidently thought, was 
merely quoting from Fabius Pictor. The whole passage has the air 
of an extract from an ancient chronicle, and is introduced by the 
words, Kol'vTOS p.kv 4>dj8ios, 6 Ili/crwp \ey6p.evos, ryde ypacpet. 

Another argument may be urged which seems to deserve con- 
sideration. The author of the passage in question mentions a 
thatched hut, which in his time stood between the summit of Mount 
Palatine and the Circus. This hut, he says, was built by Romulus, 
and was constantly kept in repair at the public charge, but never 
in any respect embellished. Now, in the age of Dionysius there 
certainly was at Rome a thatched hut, said to have been that of 
Romulus. But this hut, as we learn from Vitruvius, stood, not near 
the Circus, but in the Capitol (Vit. ii. 1). If, therefore, we under- 
stand Dionysius to speak in his own person, we can reconcile his 
statement with that of Vitruvius only by supposing that there were 
at Rome, in the Augustan age, two thatched huts, both believed to 
have been built by Romulus, and both carefully repaired and held 



12 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Cato the Censor, who also lived in the days of the Sec- 
ond Punic War, mentioned this lost literature in his lost 
work on the antiquities of his country. Many ages, he 
said, before his time, there were ballads in praise of illus- 
5 trious men ; and these ballads it was the fashion for the 

in high honor. The objections to such a supposition seem to be 
strong. Neither Dionysius nor Vitruvius speaks of more than one 
such hut. Dio Cassius informs us that twice, during the long admin- 
istration of Augustus, the hut of Romulus caught fire (xlviii. 43, liv. 
29). Had there been two such huts, would he not have told us 
of which he spoke ? An English historian would hardly give an 
account of a fire at Queen's College without saying whether it was at 
Queen's College, Oxford, or at Queen's College, Cambridge. Marcus 
Seneca, Macrobius, and Conon, a Greek writer from whom Photius 
has made large extracts, mention only one hut of Romulus, that in 
the Capitol (M. Seneca, Contr. i. 6 ; Macrobius, Sat. i. 1 5 ; Photius, 
Bibl. 186). Ovid, Livy, Petronius, Valerius Maximus, Lucius Seneca, 
and St. Jerome mention only one hut of Romulus, without specify- 
ing the site (Ovid, Fasti, iii. 183; Liv. v. 53; Petronius, Fragm.\ 
Val. Max. iv. 4 ; L. Seneca, Consolatio ad Helviam ; D. Hieron. Ad 
Paulinianum de Didymd). 

The whole difficulty is removed if we suppose that Dionysius was 
merely quoting Fabius Pictor. Nothing is more probable than that 
the cabin, which in the time of Fabius stood near the Circus, might, 
long before the age of Augustus, have been transported to the 
Capitol, as the place fittest, by reason both of its safety and of its 
sanctity, to contain so precious a relic. 

The language of Plutarch confirms this hypothesis. He describes 
with great precision the spot where Romulus dwelt, on the slope of 
Mount Palatine leading to the Circus ; but he says not a word imply- 
ing that the dwelling was still to be seen there. Indeed, his expres- 
sions imply that it was no longer there. The evidence of Solinus is 
still more to the point. He, like Plutarch, describes the spot where 
Romulus had resided, and says expressly that the hut had been 
there, but that in his time it was there no longer. The site, it is 
certain, was well remembered ; and probably retained its old name, 
as Charing Cross and the Haymarket have done. This is probably 
the explanation of the words 'Casa Romuli ' in Victor's description 
of the Tenth Region of Rome under Valentinian. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 13 

guests at banquets to sing in turn while the piper played. 
"Would," exclaims Cicero, "that we still had the old 
ballads of which Cato speaks ! " 1 

Valerius Maximus gives us exactly similar information, 
without mentioning his authority, and observes that the 5 
ancient Roman ballads were probably of more benefit to 
the young than all the lectures of the Athenian schools, 
and that to the influence of the national poetry were to be 
ascribed the virtues of such men as Camillus and Fabricius. 2 

Varro, whose authority on all questions connected with 10 
the antiquities of his country is entitled to the greatest 
respect, tells us that at banquets it was once the fashion 
for boys to sing, sometimes with and sometimes without 
instrumental music, ancient ballads in praise of men of 
former times. These young performers, he observes, were 15 
of unblemished character, a circumstance which he prob- 
ably mentioned because among the Greeks, and indeed 
in his time among the Romans also, the morals of singing- 
boys were in no high repute. 3 

1 Cicero refers twice to this important passage in Cato's Antiqui- 
ties : ' Gravissimus auctor in Originibus dixit Cato, morem apud 
majores hunc epularum fuisse, ut deinceps, qui accubarent, canerent 
ad tibiam clarorum virorum laudes atque virtutes. Ex quo perspi- 
cuum est, et cantus turn fuisse rescriptos vocum sonis, et carmina. ' 

— Tusc. Qucest. iv. 2. Again : ' Utinam exstarent ilia carmina, quae, 
multis saeculis ante suam aetatem, in epulis esse cantitata a singulis 
convivis de clarorum virorum laudibus, in Originibus scriptum reli- 
quit Cato.' — Brutus, xix. 

2 'Majores natu in conviviis ad tibias egregia superiorum opera 
carmine comprehensa pangebant, quo ad ea imitanda juventutem 
alacriorem redderent. . . . Quas Athenas, quam scholam, quae alieni- 
gena studia huic domesticae disciplinae praetulerim ? Inde oriebantur 
Camilli, Scipiones, Fabricii, Marcelli, Fabii.' — Val. Max. ii. 1. 

3 ' In conviviis pueri modesti ut cantarent carmina antiqua, in 
quibus laudes erant majorum, et assa voce, et cum tibicine.' 

— Nonius, Assa voce pro sola. 



14 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

The testimony of Horace, though given incidentally, 
confirms the statements of Cato, Valerius Maximus, and 
Varro. The poet predicts that, under the peaceful admin- 
istration of Augustus, the Romans will, over their full gob- 
5 lets, sing to the pipe, after the fashion of their fathers, the 
deeds of brave captains, and the ancient legends touching 
the origin of the city. 1 

The proposition, then, that Rome had ballad-poetry is 
not merely in itself highly probable, but is fully proved 
10 by direct evidence of the greatest weight. 

This proposition being established, it becomes easy 
to understand why the early history of the city is un- 
like almost everything else in Latin literature, native 
where almost everything else is borrowed, imaginative 

15 where almost everything else is prosaic. We can scarcely 
hesitate to pronounce that the magnificent, pathetic, and 
truly national legends, which present so striking a con- 
trast to all that surrounds them, are broken and defaced 
fragments of that early poetry which, even in the age of 

20 Cato the Censor, had become antiquated, and of which 

Tully had never heard a line. 

That this poetry should have been suffered to perish 

will not appear strange when we consider how complete 

was the triumph of the Greek genius over the public mind 
25 of Italy. It is probable that at an early period Homer 

and Herodotus furnished some hints to the Latin min- 



1 ' Nosque et profestis lucibus et sacris 
Inter jocosi munera Liberi, 

Cum prole matronisque nostris, 

Rite Deos prius apprecati, 

Virtute functos, more patrum, duces, 

Lydis remixto carmine tibiis, 

Trojamque et Anchisen et almae 

Progeniem Veneris canemus.' 

Carm. iv, 15. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 15 

strels; 1 but it was not till after the war with Pyrrhus that 
the poetry of Rome began to put off its old Ausonian 
character. The transformation was soon consummated. 
The conquered, says Horace, led captive the conquerors. 
It was precisely at the time at which the Roman people 5 
rose to unrivalled political ascendancy that they stooped to 
pass under the intellectual yoke. It was precisely at the 
time at which the sceptre departed from Greece that the 
empire of her language and of her arts became universal 
and despotic. The revolution indeed was not effected 10 
without a struggle. Naevius seems to have been the last 
of the ancient line of poets. Ennius was the founder 
of a new dynasty. Naevius celebrated the First Punic 
War in Saturnian verse, the old national verse of Italy. 2 

1 See the Preface to the Lay of the Battle of Regillus. 

2 Cicero speaks highly in more than one place of this poem of 
Naevius ; Ennius sneered at it, and stole from it. 

As to the Saturnian measure, see Hermann's Elementa Doctrina 
Metrics, iii. 9. 

The Saturnian line, according to the grammarians, consisted of 
two parts. The first was a catalectic dimeter iambic ; the second 
was composed of three trochees. But the license taken by the early 
Latin poets seems to have been almost boundless. The most per- 
fect Saturnian line which has been preserved was the work, not of a 
professional artist, but of an amateur : 

' Dabunt malum Metelli Naevio poetae.' 

There has been much difference of opinion among learned men 
respecting the history of this measure. That it is the same with 
a Greek measure used by Archilochus is indisputable. (Bentley, 
Phalaris, xi.) But in spite of the authority of Terentianus Maurus, 
and of the still higher authority of Bentley, we may venture to doubt 
whether the coincidence was not fortuitous. We constantly find 
the same rude and simple numbers in different countries, under cir- 
cumstances which make it impossible to suspect that there has been 
imitation on either side. Bishop Heber heard the children of a vil- 
lage in Bengal singing ' Radha, Radha,' to the tune of ' My boy Billy.' 



16 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Ennius sang the Second Punic War in numbers borrowed 
from the Iliad. The elder poet, in the epitaph which he 
wrote for himself, and which is a fine specimen of the 
early Roman diction and versification, plaintively boasted 

Neither the Castilian nor the German minstrels of the Middle Ages 
owed anything to Paros or to ancient Rome. Yet both the poem 
of the Cid and the poem of the Nibelungs contain many Saturnian 
verses ; as — 

' Estas nuevas a mio Cid eran venidas.' 

' A mi lo dicen ; a ti dan las orejades.' 

1 Man mohte michel wunder von Sifride sagen.' 
' Wa ich den Kiinic vinde daz sol man mir sagen.' 

Indeed there cannot be a more perfect Saturnian line than one which 
is sung in every English nursery — 

' The queen was in her parlor eating bread and honey ; ' 

yet the author of this line, we may be assured, borrowed nothing 
from either Naevius or Archilochus. 

On the other hand, it is by no means improbable that, two or 
three hundred years before the time of Ennius, some Eatin minstrel 
may have visited Sybaris or Crotona, may have heard some verses 
of Archilochus sung, may have been pleased with the metre, and 
may have introduced it at Rome. Thus much is certain, that the 
Saturnian measure, if not a native of Italy, was at least so early 
and so completely naturalized there that its foreign origin was 
forgotten. 

Bentley says, indeed, that the Saturnian measure was first brought 
from Greece into Italy by Naevius. But this is merely obiter dictum, 
to use a phrase common in our courts of law, and would not have 
been deliberately maintained by that incomparable critic, whose 
memory is held in reverence by all lovers of learning. The argu- 
ments which might be brought against Bentley's assertion — for it 
is mere assertion, supported by no evidence — are innumerable. A 
few will suffice. 

i. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Ennius. 
Ennius sneered at Naevius for writing on the First Punic War in 
verses such as the old Italian bards used before Greek literature 
had been studied. Now the poem of Naevius was in Saturnian 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 17 

that the Latin language had died with him. 1 Thus what 
to Horace appeared to be the first faint dawn of Roman 
literature, appeared to Naevius to be its hopeless setting. 
In truth, one literature was setting and another dawning. 

The victory of the foreign taste was decisive ; and indeed 5 
we can hardly blame the Romans for turning away with 
contempt from the rude lays which had delighted their 
fathers, and giving their whole admiration to the immortal 
productions of Greece. The national romances, neglected 
by the great and the refined whose education had been 10 
finished at Rhodes or Athens, continued, it may be sup- 
verse. Is it possible that Ennius could have used such expressions 
if the Saturnian verse had been just imported from Greece for the 
first time ? 

2. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Horace. 
* When Greece,' says Horace, ' introduced her arts into our uncivilized 
country, those rugged Saturnian numbers passed away.' Would 
Horace have said this if the Saturnian numbers had been imported 
from Greece just before the hexameter? 

3. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Festus and 
of Aurelius Victor, both of whom positively say that the most ancient 
prophecies attributed to the Fauns were in Saturnian verse. 

4. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Terentianus 
Maurus, to whom he has himself appealed. Terentianus Maurus 
does indeed say that the Saturnian measure, though believed by • 
the Romans from a very early period ('credidit vetustas') to be of 
Italian invention, was really borrowed from the Greeks. But Teren- 
tianus Maurus does not say that it was first borrowed by Naevius. 
Nay, the expressions used by Terentianus Maurus clearly imply the 
contrary; for how could the Romans have believed, from a very 
early period, that this measure was the indigenous production of 
Latium, if it was really brought over from Greece in an age of intel- 
ligence and liberal curiosity, in the age which gave birth to Ennius, 
Plautus, Cato the Censor, and other distinguished writers ? If 
Bentley's assertion were correct, there could have been no more 
doubt at Rome about the Greek origin of the Saturnian measure 
than about the Greek origin of hexameters or Sapphics. 

1 Aulus Gellius, Nodes Atticce, i. 24. 



18 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

posed, during some generations to delight the vulgar. 
While Virgil, in hexameters of exquisite modulation, 
described the sports of rustics, those rustics were still 
singing their wild Saturnian ballads. 1 It is not improb- 
5 able that, at the time when Cicero lamented the irreparable 
loss of the poems mentioned by Cato, a search among the 
nooks of the Apennines as active as the search which Sir 
Walter Scott made among the descendants of the moss- 
troopers of Liddesdale might have brought to light many 

io fine remains of ancient minstrelsy. No such search was 
made. The Latin ballads perished forever. Yet discern- 
ing critics have thought that they could still perceive 
in the early history of Rome numerous fragments of this 
lost poetry, as the traveller on classic ground sometimes 

15 finds, built into the heavy wall of a fort or convent, a pillar 
rich with acanthus leaves, or a frieze where the Amazons 
and Bacchanals seem to live. The theatres and temples 
of the Greek and the Roman were degraded into the quar- 
ries of the Turk and the Goth. Even so did the ancient 

20 Saturnian poetry become the quarry in which a crowd of 

orators and annalists found the materials for their prose. 

It is not difficult to trace the process by which the old 

songs were transmuted into the form which they now 

wear. Funeral panegyric and chronicle appear to have 

25 been the intermediate links which connected the lost 
ballads with the histories now extant. From a very early 
period it was the usage that an oration should be pro- 
nounced over the remains of a noble Roman. The orator, 
as we learn from Polybius, was expected on such an occa- 

30 sion to recapitulate all the services which the ancestors of 
the deceased had, from the earliest time, rendered to the 
commonwealth. There can be little doubt that the speaker 
on whom this duty was imposed would make use of all the 

1 See Servius, in Georg. ii. 385. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 19 

stories suited to his purpose which were to be found in the 
popular lays. There can be as little doubt that the family 
of an eminent man would preserve a copy of the speech 
which had been pronounced over his corpse. The com- 
pilers of the early chronicles would have recourse to these 5 
speeches; and the great historians of a later period would 
have recourse to the chronicles. 

It may be worth while to select a particular story, and 
to trace its probable progress through these stages. The 
description of the migration of the Fabian house to 10 
Cremera is one of the finest of the many fine passages 
which lie thick in the earlier books of Livy. The Consul, 
clad in his military garb, stands in the vestibule of his 
house, marshalling his clan, three hundred and six fighting 
men, all of the same proud patrician blood, all worthy to 15 
be attended by the fasces and to command the legions. 
A sad and anxious retinue of friends accompanies the 
adventurers through the streets; but the voice of lamen- 
tation is drowned by the shouts of admiring thousands. 

As the procession passes the Capitol, prayers and vows 20 
are poured forth, but in vain. The devoted band, leaving 
Janus on the right, marches to its doom through the Gate 
of Evil Luck. After achieving high deeds of valor against 
overwhelming numbers, all perish save one child, the stock 
from which the great Fabian race was destined again to 25 
spring for the safety and glory of the commonwealth. 
That this fine romance, the details of which are so full 
of poetical truth, and so utterly destitute of all show of 
historical truth, came originally from some lay which had 
often been sung with great applause at banquets, is in the 30 
highest degree probable. Nor is it difficult to imagine a 
mode in which the transmission might have taken place. 

The celebrated Quintus Fabius Maximus, who died 
about twenty years before the First Punic War, and more 



20 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

than forty years before Ennius was born, is said to have 
been interred with extraordinary pomp. In the eulogy 
pronounced over his body all the great exploits of his 
ancestors were doubtless recounted and exaggerated. If 
5 there were then extant songs which gave a vivid and touch- 
ing description of an event, the saddest and the most 
glorious in the long history of the Fabian house, nothing 
could be more natural than that the panegyrist should 
borrow from such songs their finest touches, in order to 

io adorn his speech. A few generations later the songs would 
perhaps be forgotten, or remembered only by shepherds 
and vine-dressers. But the speech would certainly be 
preserved in the archives of the Fabian nobles. Fabius 
Pictor would be well acquainted with a document so inter- 

15 esting to his personal feelings, and would insert large 
extracts from it in his rude chronicle. That chronicle, 
as we know, was the oldest to which Livy had access. 
Livy would at a glance distinguish the bold strokes of the 
forgotten poet from the dull and feeble narrative by which 

20 they were surrounded, would retouch them with a delicate 
and powerful pencil, and would make them immortal. 

That this might happen at Rome can scarcely be 
doubted ; for something very like this has happened in 
several countries, and, among others, in our own. Perhaps 

25 the theory of Perizonius cannot be better illustrated than 
by showing that what he supposes to have taken place in 
ancient times has, beyond all doubt, taken place in modern 
times. 

"History," says Hume with the utmost gravity, "has 

30 preserved some instances of Edgar's amours, from which, 
as from a specimen, we may form a conjecture of the rest." 
He then tells very agreeably the stones of Elfleda and 
Elfrida, two stories which have a most suspicious air of 
romance, and which indeed greatly resemble, in their 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 21 

general character, some of the legends of early Rome. He 
cites, as his authority for these two tales, the chronicle of 
William of Malmesbury, who lived in the time of King 
Stephen. The great majority of readers suppose that the 
device by which Elfrida was substituted for her young 5 
mistress, the artifice by which Athelwold obtained the 
hand of Elfrida, the detection of that artifice, the hunting 
party, and the vengeance of the amorous king, are things 
about which there is no more doubt than about the execu- 
tion of Anne Boleyn or the slitting of Sir John Coventry's 10 
nose. But when we turn to William of Malmesbury, we 
find that Hume, in his eagerness to relate these pleasant 
fables, has overlooked one very important circumstance. 
William does indeed tell both the stories ; but he gives 
us distinct notice that he does not warrant their truth, 15 
and that they rest on no better authority than that of 
ballads. 1 

Such is the way in which these two well-known tales 
have been handed down. They originally appeared in a 
poetical form. They found their way from ballads into 20 
an old chronicle. The ballads perished ; the chronicle 
remained. A great historian, some centuries after the 
ballads had been altogether forgotten, consulted the 
chronicle. He was struck by the lively coloring of these 
ancient fictions ; he transferred them to his pages ; and 25 
thus we find inserted, as unquestionable facts, in a narra- 
tive which is likely to last as long as the English tongue, 
the inventions of some minstrel whose works were prob- 
ably never committed to writing, whose name is buried 
in oblivion, and whose dialect has become obsolete. It 3° 

1 ' Infamias quas post dicam magis resperserunt cantilense.' Edgar 
appears to have been most mercilessly treated in the Anglo-Saxon 
ballads. He was the favorite of the monks ; and the monks and 
the minstrels were at deadly feud. 



22 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

must, then, be admitted to be possible, or rather highly 
probable, that the stories of Romulus and Remus, and of 
the Horatii and Curiatii, may have had a similar origin. 
Castilian literature will furnish us with another parallel 
5 case. Mariana, the classical historian of Spain, tells the 
story of the ill-starred marriage which the King Don 
Alonzo brought about between the heirs of Carrion and 
the two daughters of the Cid. The Cid bestowed a princely 
dower on his sons-in-law. But the young men were base 

10 and proud, cowardly and cruel. They were tried in dan- 
ger, and found wanting. They fled before the Moors, 
and once, when a lion broke out of his den, they ran and 
crouched in an unseemly hiding-place. They knew that 
they were despised, and took counsel how they might be 

15 avenged. They parted from their father-in-law with many 
signs of love, and set forth on a journey with Dona Elvira 
and Dona Sol. In a solitary place the bridegrooms seized 
their brides, stripped them, scourged them, and departed, 
leaving them for dead. But one of the house of Bivar, 

20 suspecting foul play, had followed the travellers in dis- 
guise. The ladies were brought back safe to the house 
of their father. Complaint was made to the king. It 
was adjudged by the Cortes that the dower given by the 
Cid should be returned, and that the heirs of Carrion, 

25 together with one of their kindred, should do battle 
against three knights of the party of the Cid. The guilty 
youths would have declined the combat ; but all their 
shifts were vain. They were vanquished in the lists and 
forever disgraced, while their injured wives were sought 

30 in marriage by great princes. 1 

Some Spanish writers have labored to show, by an 
examination of dates and circumstances, that this story 
is untrue. Such confutation was surely not needed ; for 
1 Mariana, lib. x. cap. 4. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 23 

the narrative is on the face of it a romance. How it 
found its way into Mariana's history is quite clear. He 
acknowledges his obligations to the ancient chronicles, 
and had doubtless before him the Cronica del famoso Ca- 
valier o Cid Ruy Diez Camfteador, which had been printed 5 
as early as the year 1552. He little suspected that all the 
most striking passages in this chronicle were copied from 
a poem of the twelfth century, a poem of which the lan- 
guage and versification had long been obsolete, but which 
glowed with no common portion of the fire of the Iliad. 10 
Yet such was the fact. More than a century and a half 
after the death of Mariana, this venerable ballad, of which 
one imperfect copy on parchment, four hundred years old, 
had been preserved at Bivar, was for the first time printed. 
Then it was found that every interesting circumstance of 15 
the story of the heirs of Carrion was derived by the elo- 
quent Jesuit from a song of which he had never heard, 
and which was composed by a minstrel whose very name 
had long been forgotten. 1 

Such, or nearly such, appears to have been the process 20 
by which the lost ballad-poetry of Rome was transformed 
into history. To reverse that process, to transform some 
portions of early Roman history back into the poetry out 
of which they were made, is the object of this work. 

In the following poems the author speaks, not in his 25 
own person, but in the persons of ancient minstrels who 
know only what a Roman citizen, born three or four hun- 
dred years before the Christian era, may be supposed to 
have known, and who are in nowise above the passions 

1 See the account which Sanchez gives of the Bivar manuscript 
in the first volume of the Coleccion de Poesias Castellanas anteriores 
al Siglo XV. Part of the story of the lords of Carrion, in the poem 
of the Cid, has been translated by Mr. Frere in a manner above all 
praise. 



24 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

and prejudices of their age and nation. To these imagi- 
nary poets must be ascribed some blunders which are so 
obvious that it is unnecessary to point them out. The 
real blunder would have been to represent these old poets 
5 as deeply versed in general history and studious of chron- 
ological accuracy. To them must also be attributed the 
illiberal sneers at the Greeks, the furious party-spirit, the 
contempt for the arts of peace, -the love of war for its 
own sake, the ungenerous exultation over the vanquished, 

io which the reader will sometimes observe. To portray a 
Roman of the age of Camillus or Curius as superior to 
national antipathies, as mourning over the devastation 
and slaughter by which empire and triumphs were to be 
won, as looking on human suffering with the sympathy of 

15 Howard, or as treating conquered enemies with the deli- 
cacy of the Black Prince, would be to violate all dramatic 
propriety. The old Romans had some great virtues, — 
fortitude, temperance, veracity, spirit to resist oppression, 
respect for legitimate authority, fidelity in the observing 

20 of contracts, disinterestedness, ardent patriotism ; but 
Christian charity and chivalrous generosity were alike 
unknown to them. 

It would have been obviously improper to mimic the 
manner of any particular age or country. Something has 

25 been borrowed, however, from our own old ballads, and 
more from Sir Walter Scott, the great restorer of our 
ballad-poetry. To the Iliad still greater obligations are 
due ; and those obligations have been contracted with 
the less hesitation, because there is reason to believe that 

30 some of the old Latin minstrels really had recourse to 
that inexhaustible store of poetical images. 

It would -have been easy to swell this little volume to 
a very considerable bulk by appending notes filled with 
quotations ; but to a learned reader such notes are not 



A UTHOR 'S, PREFA CE. 25 

necessary ; for an unlearned reader they would have little 
interest; and the judgment passed both by the learned 
and by the unlearned on a work of the imagination will 
always depend much more on the general character and 
spirit of such a work than on minute details. 5 




ROME UNDER THE KINGS. 



i. " Square Rome" {Roma Quadrata), the city of Romulus. 

2. The Comitium. 

3. The Sabine City. 

4. The Latin Gate. 



HORATIUS. 



There can be little doubt that among those parts of 
early Roman history which had a poetical origin was the 
legend of Horatius Codes. We have several versions of 
the story, and these versions differ from each other in 
points of no small importance. Polybius, there is reason 5 
to believe, heard the tale recited over the remains of some 
Consul or Praetor descended from the old Horatian patri- 
cians ; for he introduces it as a specimen of the narratives 
with which the Romans were in the habit of embellishing 
their funeral oratory. It is remarkable that, according to 10 
him, Horatius defended the bridge alone, and perished 
in the waters. According to the chronicles which Livy 
and Dionysius followed, Horatius had two companions, 
swam safe to shore, and was loaded with honors and 
rewards. 15 

These discrepancies are easily explained. Our own 
literature, indeed, will furnish an exact parallel to what 
may have taken place at Rome. It is highly probable 
that the memory of the war of Porsena was preserved by 
compositions much resembling the two ballads which 20 
stand first in the Relics of Ancient English Poetry. In 
both those ballads the English, commanded by the Percy, 
fight with the Scots, commanded by the Douglas. In 
one of the ballads the Douglas is killed by a nameless 
English archer, and the Percy by a Scottish spearman ; 25 
in the other the Percy slays the Douglas in single com- 
bat, and is himself made prisoner. In the former Sir 

27 



28 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Hugh Montgomery is shot through the heart by a North- 
umbrian bowman; in the latter he is taken, and exchanged 
for the Percy. Yet both the ballads relate to the same 
event, and that an event which probably took place within 
5 the memory of persons who were alive when both the 
ballads were made. One of the minstrels says : 

" Old men that knowen the grounde well yenoughe 
Call it the battell of Otterburn : 
At Otterburn began this spurne 
10 Upon a monnyn day. 

Ther was the dougghte Doglas slean : 
The Perse never went away." 

The other poet sums up the event in the following 

lines: 
15 " Thys fraye bygan at Otterborne 

Bytwene the nyghte and the day : 
Ther the Dowglas lost hys lyfe, 
And the Percy was lede away." 

It is by no means unlikely that there were two old 
20 Roman lays about the defence of the bridge ; and that, 
while the story which Livy has transmitted to us was pre- 
ferred by the multitude, the other, which ascribed the 
whole glory to Horatius alone, may have been the favorite 
with the Horatian house. 
25 The following ballad is supposed to have been made 
about a hundred and twenty years after the war which it 
celebrates, and just before the taking of Rome by the 
Gauls. The author seems to have been an honest citizen, 
proud of the military glory of his country, sick of the dis- 
30 putes of factions, and much given to pining after good 
old times which had never really existed. The allusion, 
however, to the partial manner in which the public lands 
were allotted, could proceed only from a plebeian; and 



HORA TIUS. 29 

the allusion to the fraudulent sale of spoils marks the 
date of the poem, and shows that the poet shared in the 
general discontent with which the proceedings of Camillus, 
after the taking of Veii, were regarded. 

The penultimate syllable of the name Porsena has been 5 
shortened in spite of the authority of Niebuhr, who pro- 
nounces, without assigning any ground for his opinion, 
that Martial was guilty of a decided blunder in the line, 

" Hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit." 

It is not easy to understand how any modern scholar, 10 
whatever his attainments may be, — and those of Niebuhr 
were undoubtedly immense, — can venture to pronounce 
that Martial did not know the quantity of a word which 
he must have uttered and heard uttered a hundred times 
before he left school. Niebuhr seems also to have for- 15 
gotten that Martial has fellow-culprits to keep him in 
countenance. Horace has committed the same decided 
blunder ; for he gives us, as a pure iambic line, 

" Minacis aut Etrusca Porsenas manus." 

Silius Italicus has repeatedly offended in the same way, 20 
as when he says, 

" Cernitur effugiens ardentem Porsena dextram : " 

and again, 

" Clusinum vulgus, cum, Porsena magne, jubebas." 

A modern writer may be content to err in such company. 25 

Niebuhr's supposition, that each of the three defenders 
of the bridge was the representative of one of the three 
patrician tribes, is both ingenious and probable, and has 
been adopted in the following poem. 



30 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

HORATIUS. 

A LAY MADE ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLX. 



Lars Porsena of Clusium 

By the Nine Gods he swore 
That the great house of Tarquin 

Should suffer wrong no more. 
By the Nine Gods he swore it, 

And named a trysting day, 
And bade his messengers ride forth, 
East and west and south and north, 

To summon his array. 



East and west and south and north 10 

The messengers ride fast, 
And tower and town and cottage 

Have heard the trumpet's blast. 
Shame on the false Etruscan 

Who lingers in his home, 15 

When Porsena of Clusium 

Is on the march for Rome ! 

in. 

The horsemen and the footmen 

Are pouring in amain 
From many a stately market-place, 20 

From many a fruitful plain ; 
From many a lonely hamlet, 

Which, hid by beech and pine, 



HORA TIUS. 31 

Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest 

Of purple Apennine ; 2 5 



IV. 

From lordly Volaterrae, 

Where scowls the far-famed hold 
Piled by the hands of giants 

For godlike kings of old ; 
From sea-girt Populonia, 3° 

Whose sentinels descry 
Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops 

Fringing the southern sky ; 



From the proud mart of Pisae, 

Queen of the western waves, 35 

Where ride Massilia's triremes 

Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; 
From where sweet Clanis wanders 

Through corn and vines and flowers ; 
From where Cortona lifts to heaven 4° 

Her diadem of towers. 



VI. 

Tall are the oaks whose acorns 

Drop in dark Auser's rill ; 
Fat are the stags that champ the boughs 

Of the Ciminian hill ; . 45 

Beyond all streams Clitumnus 

Is to the herdsman dear ; 
Best of all pools the fowler loves 

The great Volsinian mere. 



32 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

VII. 

But now no stroke of woodman 5° 

Is heard by Auser's rill ; 
No hunter tracks the stag's green path 

Up the Ciminian hill ; 
Unwatched along Clitumnus 

Grazes the milk-white steer ; 55 

Unharmed the water-fowl may dip 

In the Volsinian mere. 

VIII. 

The harvests of Arretium 

This year old men shall reap ; 
This year young boys in Umbro 6o 

Shall plunge the struggling sheep ; 
And in the vats of Luna 

This year the must shall foam 
Round the white feet of laughing girls, 

Whose sires have marched to Rome. 6 5 

IX. 

There be thirty chosen prophets, 

The wisest of the land, 
Who alway by Lars Porsena 

Both morn and evening stand ; 
Evening and morn the Thirty 7° 

Have turned the verses o'er, 
Traced from the right on linen white 

By mighty seers of yore. 



And with one voice the Thirty 

Have their glad answer given : 75 



HORA TIUS. 33 

" Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena ; 

Go forth, beloved of Heaven ; 
Go, and return in glory 

To Clusium's royal dome, 
And hang round Nurscia's altars 80 

The golden shields of Rome." 

XL 

And now hath every city 

Sent up her tale of men ; 
The foot are fourscore thousand, 

The horse are thousands ten. 85 

Before the gates of Sutrium 

Is met the great array. 
A proud man was Lars Porsena 

Upon the trysting day. 

XII. 

For all the Etruscan armies 9° 

Were ranged beneath his eye, 
And many a banished Roman, 

And many a stout ally ; 
And with a mighty following 

To join the muster came 95 

The Tusculan Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name. 



XIII. 

But by the yellow Tiber 

Was tumult and affright ; 
From all the spacious champaign l °° 

To Rome men took their flight. 



34 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

A mile around the city 

The throng stopped up the ways ; 
A fearful sight it was to see 

Through two long nights and days. io 5 

XIV. 

For aged folk on crutches, 

And women great with child, 
And mothers sobbing over babes 

That clung to them and smiled, 
And sick men borne in litters IIQ 

High on the necks of slaves, 
And troops of sunburnt husbandmen 

With reaping-hooks and staves, 

xv. 

And droves of mules and asses 

Laden with skins of wine, "5 

And endless flocks of goats and sheep, 

And endless herds of kine, 
And endless trains of wagons, 

That creaked beneath the weight 
Of corn-sacks and of household goods, I2 ° 

Choked every roaring gate. 

XVI. 

Now from the rock Tarpeian 

Could the wan burghers spy 
The line of blazing villages 

Red in the midnight sky. 125 

The Fathers of the City 

They sat all night and day, 
For every hour some horseman came 

With tidings of dismay. 



HORA TIUS. 35 

XVII. 

To eastward and to westward l 3° 

Have spread the Tuscan bands ; 
Nor house nor fence nor dovecote 

In Crustumerium stands. 
Verbenna down to Ostia 

Hath wasted all the plain ; 135 

Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 

And the stout guards are slain. 

XVIII. 

I wis, in all the Senate 

There was no heart so bold 
But sore it ached and fast it beat, 140 

When that ill news was told. 
Forthwith uprose the Consul, 

Uprose the Fathers all ; 
In haste they girded up their gowns, 

And hied them to the wall. 145 

XIX. 

They held a council standing 

Before the River-Gate ; 
Short time was there, ye well may guess, 

For musing or debate. 
Out spake the Consul roundly : 1 '5° 

" The bridge must straight go down; 
For, since Janiculum is lost, 

Naught else can save the town." 

xx. 

Just then a scout came flying, 

All wild with haste and fear : 155 



36 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

"To arms ! to arms ! Sir Consul; 

Lars Porsena is here." 
On the low hills to westward 

The Consul fixed his eye, 
And saw the swarthy storm of dust l6 ° 

Rise fast along the sky. 

XXI. 

And nearer fast and nearer 

Doth the red whirlwind come ; 
And louder still and still more loud, 
From underneath that rolling cloud, l6 5 

Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud, 

The trampling and the hum. 
And plainly and more plainly 

Now through the gloom appears, 
Far to left and far to right, l 7° 

In broken gleams of dark-blue light, 
The long array of helmets bright, 

The long array of spears. 

XXII. 

And plainly and more plainly, 

Above that glimmering line, x 75 

Now might ye see the banners 

Of twelve fair cities shine ; 
But the banner of proud Clusium 

Was highest of them all, 
The terror of the Umbrian, l8 ° 

The terror of the Gaul. 

XXIII. 

And plainly and more plainly 
Now might the burghers know, 



HORA TIUS. 37 

By port and vest, by horse and crest, 

Each warlike Lucumo. l8 5 

There Cilnius of Arretium 

On his fleet roan was seen ; 
And Astur of the fourfold shield, 
Girt with the brand none else may wield, 
Tolumnius with the belt of gold, 19° 

And dark Verbenna from the hold 

By reedy Thrasymene. 

XXIV. 

Fast by the royal standard, 

O'erlooking all the war, 
Lars Porsena of Clusium ! 95 

Sat in his ivory car. 
By the right wheel rode Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name ; 
And by the left false Sextus, 

That wrought the deed of shame. 20 ° 

xxv. 

But when the face of Sextus 

Was seen among the foes, 
A yell that rent the firmament 

From all the town arose. 
On the house-tops was no woman 2 °5 

But spat towards him and hissed, 
No child but screamed out curses 

And shook its little fist. 

xxvi. 

But the Consul's brow was sad, 

And the Consul's speech was low, 2I ° 



38 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And darkly looked he at the wall, 

And darkly at the foe. 
" Their van will be upon us 

Before the bridge goes down ; 
And if they once may win the bridge, 215 

What hope to save the town?" 

XXVII. 

Then out spake brave Horatius, 

The Captain of the Gate : 
" To every man upon this earth 

Death cometh soon or late. 22 ° 

And how can man die better 

Than facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of his fathers 

And the temples of his Gods, 

XXVIII. 

" And for the tender mother 22 5 

Who dandled him to rest, 
And for the wife who nurses 

His baby at her breast, 
And for the holy maidens 

Who feed the eternal flame, 2 3° 

To save them from false Sextus 

That wrought the deed of shame ? 

XXIX. 

" Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may ; 
I, with two more to help me, 2 35 

Will hold the foe in play. 



HORA TIUS. 39 

In yon strait path a thousand 

May well be stopped by three. 
Now who will stand on either hand, 

And keep the bridge with me?" 2 4° 

XXX. 

Then out spake Spurius Lartius — 

A Ramnian proud was he : 
" Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 
And out spake strong Herminius — 2 45 

Of Titian blood was he : 
" I will abide on thy left side, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 

XXXI. 

" Horatius," quoth the Consul, 

" As thou sayest, so let it be." 2 5° 

And straight against that great array 

Forth went the dauntless Three. 
For Romans in Rome's quarrel 

Spared neither land nor gold, 
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 2 55 

In the brave days of old. 

XXXII. 

Then none was for a party ; 

Then all were for the State ; 
Then the great man helped the poor, 

And the poor man loved the great ; 
Then lands were fairly portioned; 

Then spoils were fairly sold : 
The Romans were like brothers 

In the brave days of old. 



260 



40 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



XXXIII. 



Now Roman is to Roman 265 

More hateful than a foe ; 
And the Tribunes beard the high, 

And the Fathers grind the low. 
As we wax hot in faction, 

In battle we wax cold ; 2 7o 

Wherefore men fight not as they fought 

In the brave days of old. 

xxxiv. 

Now while the Three were tightening 

Their harness on their backs, 
The Consul was the foremost man 275 

To take in hand an axe ; 
And Fathers mixed with Commons 

Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
And smote upon the planks above, 

And loosed the props below. 280 

xxxv. 

Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 

Right glorious to behold, 
Came flashing back the noonday light, 
Rank behind rank, like surges bright 

Of a broad sea of gold. 28 5 

Four hundred trumpets sounded 

A peal of warlike glee, 
As that great host, with measured tread, 
And spears advanced and ensigns spread, 
Rolled slowly towards the bridge's head, 2 9° 

Where stood the dauntless Three. 



HORA TIUS. 41 



XXXVI. 

The Three stood calm and silent, 

And looked upon the foes, 
And a great shout of laughter 

From all the vanguard rose ; 295 

And forth three chiefs came spurring 

Before that deep array ; 
To earth they sprang, their swords they drew, 
And lifted high their shields, and flew 

To win the narrow way; 300 

XXXVII. 

Aunus from green Tifernum, 

Lord of the Hill of Vines; 
And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves 

Sicken in Ilva's mines ; 
And Picus, long to Clusium 305 

Vassal in peace and war, 
Who led to fight his Umbrian powers 
From that grey crag where, girt with towers, 
The fortress of Nequinum lowers 

O'er the pale waves of Nar. 310 

XXXVIII. 

Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 

Into the stream beneath; 
Herminius struck at Seius, 

And clove him to the teeth; 
At Picus brave Horatius 315 

Darted one fiery thrust, 
And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms 

Clashed in the bloody dust. 



42 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



XXXIX. 



Then Ocnus of Falerii 

Rushed on the Roman Three ; 320 

And Lausulus of Urgo, 

The rover of the sea ; 
And Aruns of Volsinium, 

Who slew the great wild boar, 
The great wild boar that had his den 325 

Amidst the reeds of Cosa's fen, 
And wasted fields and slaughtered men 

Along Albinia's shore. 

XL. 

Herminius smote down Aruns; 

Lartius laid Ocnus low ; 330 

Right to the heart of Lausulus 

Horatius sent a blow. 
" Lie there," he cried, " fell pirate ! 

No more, aghast and pale, 
From Ostia's walls the crowd shall mark 335 

The track of thy destroying bark. 
No more Campania's hinds shall fly 
To woods and caverns, when they spy 

Thy thrice accursed sail." 

XLI. 

But now no sound of laughter 340 

Was heard among the foes ; 
A wild and wrathful clamor 

From all the vanguard rose. 
Six spears' length from the entrance 

Halted that deep array, 345 



HORA TIUS. 43 

And for a space no man came forth 
To win the narrow way. 

XLII. 

But hark ! the cry is " Astur ! " 

And lo ! the ranks divide, 
And the great Lord of Luna 35° 

Comes with his stately stride. 
Upon his ample shoulders 

Clangs loud the fourfold shield, 
And in his hand he shakes the brand 

Which none but he can wield. 355 

XLIII. 

He smiled on those bold Romans 

A smile serene and high ; 
He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 

And scorn was in his eye. 
Quoth he, " The she-wolf's litter 360 

Stand savagely at bay ; 
But will ye dare to follow, 

If Astur clears the way ? " 

XLIV. 

Then, whirling up his broadsword 

With both hands to the height, 365 

He rushed against Horatius, 

And smote with all his might. 
With shield and blade Horatius 

Right deftly turned the blow. 
The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh ; 370 
It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh; 
The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 

To see the red blood flow. 



LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



XLV. 



He reeled, and on Herminius 

He leaned one breathing-space; 375 

Then, like a wildcat mad with wounds, 

Sprang right at Astur's face ; 
Through teeth and skull and helmet 

So fierce a thrust he sped, 
The good sword stood a hand-breadth out 380 

Behind the Tuscan's head. 

XLVI. 

And the great Lord of Luna 

Fell at that deadly stroke, 
As falls on Mount Alvernus 

A thunder-smitten oak. 385 

Far o'er the crashing forest 

The giant arms lie spread ; 
And the pale augurs, muttering low, 

Gaze on the blasted head. 

XLVII. 

On Astur's throat Horatius 390 

Right firmly pressed his heel, 
And thrice and four times tugged amain, 

Ere he wrenched out the steel. 
" And see," he cried, " the welcome, 

Fair guests, that waits you here ! 395 

What noble Lucumo comes next 

To taste our Roman cheer ? " 

XLVIII. 

But at his haughty challenge 
A sullen murmur ran, 



HORA TIUS. 45 

Mingled of wrath and shame and dread, 400 

Along that glittering van. 
There lacked not men of prowess 

Nor men of lordly race ; 
For all Etruria's noblest 

Were round the fatal place. 405 

XLIX. 

But all Etruria's noblest 

Felt their hearts sink to see 
On the earth the bloody corpses, 

In the path the dauntless Three ; 
And from the ghastly entrance 410 

Where those bold Romans stood 
All shrank, like boys who, unaware, 
Ranging the woods to start a hare, 
Come to the mouth of the dark lair 
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 415 

Lies amidst bones and blood. 

L. 

Was none who would be foremost 

To lead such dire attack ; 
But those behind cried " Forward ! " 

And those before cried " Back ! " 420 

And backward now and forward 

Wavers the deep array; 
And on the tossing sea of steel 

To and fro the standards reel, 
And the victorious trumpet-peal 425 

Dies fitfully away. 

LI. 

Yet one man for one moment 
Stood out before the crowd ; 



46 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Well known was he to all the Three, 

And they gave him greeting loud : 430 

" Now welcome, welcome, Sextus ! 
Now welcome to thy home ! 

Why dost thou stay and turn away ? 
Here lies the road to Rome." 

LII. 

Thrice looked he at the city, 435 

Thrice looked he at the dead ; 
And thrice came on in fury, 

And thrice turned back in dread ; 
And, white with fear and hatred, 

Scowled at the narrow way, 440 

Where, wallowing in a pool of blood, 

The bravest Tuscans lay. 

LIII. 

But meanwhile axe and lever 

Have manfully been plied, 
And now the bridge hangs tottering 445 

Above the boiling tide. 
" Come back, come back, Horatius ! " 

Loud cried the Fathers all. 
" Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius ! 

Back, ere the ruin fall ! " 45° 

LIV. 

Back darted Spurius Lartius, 

Herminius darted back; 
And, as they passed, beneath their feet 

They felt the timbers crack. 
But when they turned their faces, 455 

And on the farther shore 



HORA TIUS. 47 

Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 

They would have crossed once more. 

LV. 

But with a crash like thunder 

Fell every loosened beam, 460 

And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 

Lay right athwart the stream. 
And a long shout of triumph 

Rose from the walls of Rome, 
As to the highest turret-tops 465 

Was splashed the yellow foam. 

LVI. 

And, like a horse unbroken 

When first he feels the rein, 
The furious river struggled hard, 

And tossed his tawny mane, 47° 

And burst the curb and bounded, 

Rejoicing to be free, 
And, whirling down in fierce career 
Battlement and plank and pier, 

Rushed headlong to the sea. 475 

LVI 1. 

Alone stood brave Horatius, 

But constant still in mind, 
Thrice thirty thousand foes before 

And the broad flood behind. 
"Down with him! " cried false Sextus, 480 

With a smile on his pale face. 
" Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena, 

" Now yield thee to our grace." 



48 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



LVIII. 



Round turned he, as not deigning 

Those craven ranks to see; 485 

Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, 

To Sextus naught spake he ; 
But he saw on Palatinus 

The white porch of his home, 
And he spake to the noble river 49° 

That rolls by the towers of Rome : 

LIX. 

" O Tiber ! father Tiber ! 

To whom the Romans pray, 
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 

Take thou in charge this day ! " 495 

So he spake, and speaking sheathed 

The good sword by his side, 
And with his harness on his back 

Plunged headlong in the tide. 



LX. 

No sound of joy or sorrow 500 

Was heard from either bank, 
But friends and foes in dumb surprise, 
With parted lips and straining eyes, 

Stood gazing where he sank ; 
And when above the surges 5°5 

They saw his crest appear, 
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
And even the ranks of Tuscany 

Could scarce forbear to cheer. 



HORA TIUS. 49 



LXI. 



But fiercely ran the current, 510 

Swollen high by months of rain ; 
And fast his blood was flowing, 

And he was sore in pain, 
And heavy with his armor, 

And spent with changing blows; 515 

And oft they thought him sinking, 

But still again he rose. 

LXII. 

Never, I ween, did swimmer, 

In such an evil case, 
Struggle through such a raging flood 520 

Safe to the landing place; 
But his limbs were borne up bravely 

By the brave heart within, 
And our good father Tiber 

Bare bravely up his chin. 525 

LXIII. 

" Curse on him ! " quoth false Sextus ; 

" Will not the villain drown ? 
But for this stay, ere close of day 

We should have sacked the town ! " 
" Heaven help him ! " quoth Lars Porsena, 530 

" And bring him safe to shore ; 
For such a gallant feat of arms 

Was never seen before." 

LXIV. 

And now he feels the bottom ; 

Now on dry earth he stands ; 535 



50 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Now round him throng the Fathers 

To press his gory hands ; 
And now, with shouts and clapping 

And noise of weeping loud, 
He enters through the River-Gate, 540 

Borne by the joyous crowd. 

LXV. 

They gave him of the corn-land, 

That was of public right, 
As much as two strong oxen 

Could plough from morn till night ; 545 

And they made a molten image 

And set it up on high, 
And there it stands unto this day 

To witness if I lie. 

LXVI. 

It stands in the Comitium, 550 

Plain for all folk to see, 
Horatius in his harness 

Halting upon one knee ; 
And underneath is written 

In letters all of gold 555 

How valiantly he kept the bridge 

In the brave days of old. 

LXVII. 

And still his name sounds stirring 

Unto the men of Rome, 
As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 560 

To charge the Volscian home ; 
And wives still pray to Juno 



HO RATI US. 51 

For boys with hearts as bold 
As his who kept the bridge so well 

In the brave days of old. 565 

LXVIII. 

And in the nights of winter, 

When the cold north winds blow, 
And the long howling of the wolves 

Is heard amidst the snow ; 
When round the lonely cottage 570 

Roars loud the tempest's din, 
And the good logs of Algidus 

Roar louder yet within; 

LXIX. 

When the oldest cask is opened, 

And the largest lamp is lit; 575 

When the chestnuts glow in the embers, 

And the kid turns on the spit ; 
When young and old in circle 

Around the firebrands close ; 
When the girls are weaving baskets, 580 

And the lads are shaping bows ; 

LXX. 

When the goodman mends his armor, 

And trims his helmet's plume ; 
When the goodwife's shuttle merrily 

Goes flashing through the loom ; 585 

With weeping and with laughter 

Still is the story told, 
How well Horatius kept the bridge 

In the brave days of old. 



THE 

BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 



The following poem is supposed to have been pro- 
duced about ninety years after the lay of Horatius. Some 
persons mentioned in the lay of Horatius make their ap- 
pearance again, and some appellations and epithets used 
in the lay of Horatius have been purposely repeated ; for, 5 
in an age of ballad poetry, it scarcely ever fails to happen 
that certain phrases come to be appropriated to certain 
men and things, and are regularly applied to those men 
and things by every minstrel. Thus we find, both in the 
Homeric poems and in Hesiod, /307 'Hpa/cAr/ci^, 7repiKXvros 10 
'A/A<£iyvr/as, SiaKTopos 'Apyetc^ovr^s, €7rTaruAos ®rj/3r], 'EAev^s 
hoc yvKOfioio. Thus, too, in our own national songs Doug- 
las is almost always the doughty Douglas, England is merry 
England, all the gold is red, and all the ladies are gay. 

The principal distinction between the lay of Horatius 15 
and the lay of the Lake Regillus is that the former is 
meant to be purely Roman, while the latter, though 
national in its general spirit, has a slight tincture of 
Greek learning and of Greek superstition. The story of 
the Tarquins, as it has come down to us, appears to have 20 
been compiled from the works of several popular poets ; 
and one, at least, of those poets appears to have visited 
the Greek colonies in Italy, if not Greece itself, and to 
have had some acquaintance with the works of Homer 
and Herodotus. Many of the most striking adventures 25 
of the house of Tarquin, before Lucretia makes her 
appearance, have a Greek character. The Tarquins them- 

53 



54 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

selves are represented as Corinthian nobles of the great 
house of the Bacchiadae, driven from their country by the 
tyranny of that Cypselus the tale of whose strange escape 
Herodotus has related with incomparable simplicity and 
5 liveliness. 1 Livy and Dionysius tell us that, when Tarquin 
the Proud was asked what was the best mode of govern- 
ing a conquered city, he replied only by beating down 
with his staff all the tallest poppies in his garden. 2 This 
is exactly what Herodotus, in the passage to which refer- 

io ence has already been made, relates of the counsel given 
to Periander, the son of Cypselus. The stratagem by 
which the town of Gabii is brought under the power of 
the Tarquins is, again, obviously copied from Herodotus. 3 
The embassy of the young Tarquins to the oracle at Del- 

15 phi is just such a story as would be told by a poet whose 
head was full of the Greek mythology ; and the ambigu- 
ous answer returned by Apollo is in the exact style of 
the prophecies which, according to Herodotus, lured 
Croesus to destruction. Then the character of the nar- 

20 rative changes. From the first mention of Lucretia to 
the retreat of Porsena nothing seems to be borrowed from 
foreign sources. The villainy of Sextus, the suicide of 
his victim, the revolution, the death of the sons of Brutus, 
the defence of the bridge, Mucius burning his hand, 4 

25 Clcelia swimming through Tiber, seem to be all strictly 
Roman. But when we have done with the Tuscan war, 
and enter upon the war with the Latines, we are again 
struck by the Greek air of the story. The Battle of the 

1 Herodotus, v. 92. Livy, i. 34. Dionysius, iii. 46. 

2 Livy, i. 54. Dionysius, iv. 56. 

3 Herodotus, iii. 154. Livy, i. 53. 

4 M. de Pouilly attempted, a hundred and twenty years ago, to 
prove that the story of Mucius was of Greek origin ; but he was 
signally confuted by the Abbe Sallier. See the Mhnoires de VAca- 
demie des Inscriptions, vi. 27. 66. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 55 

Lake Regillus is in all respects a Homeric battle, except 
that the combatants ride astride on their horses instead 
of driving chariots. The mass of fighting men is hardly 
mentioned. The leaders single each other out, and en- 
gage hand to hand. The great object of the warriors on 5 
both sides is, as in the Iliad, to obtain possession of the 
spoils and bodies of the slain ; and several circumstances 
are related which forcibly remind us of the great slaughter 
round the corpses of Sarpedon and Patroclus. 

But there is one circumstance which deserves especial 10 
notice. Both the war of Troy and the war of Regillus 
were caused by the licentious passions of young princes, 
who were therefore peculiarly bound not to be sparing of 
their own persons in the day of battle. Now the conduct 
of Sextus at Regillus, as described by Livy, so exactly 15 
resembles that of Paris, as described at the beginning of 
the third book of the Iliad, that it is difficult to believe the 
resemblance accidental. Paris appears before the Trojan 
ranks, defying the bravest Greek to encounter him : 

Tpwcrlv fJLev 7rpofxd)(L^ev 'AAe^avSpo? 0€oei&r)<», 20 

. . . Apyetwv 7rpOKa\i£ero Travra^ apiarovi, 
avrifiiov pLa^iaaaOaL iv alvrj Srj'tOTrJTL. 

Livy introduces Sextus in a similar manner : " Ferocem 
juvenem Tarquinium, ostentantem se in prima exsulum 
acie." Menelaus rushes to meet Paris. A Roman noble, 2 5 
eager for vengeance, spurs his horse towards Sextus. 
Both the guilty princes are instantly terror stricken: 
T6v 8' tos ovv ivorjaev ' Ake£av$po<; OeoeiSrjs 
iv 7rpopid)(Ot(TL cpavevTa, KaTe7rXyyrj cptXov rjrop' 
a\j/ 8' erdpcov ets Wvos e^a^ero Krjp* aXeuvmv. 30 

" Tarquinius," says Livy, " retro in agmen suorum 
infenso cessit hosti." If this be a fortuitous coinci- 
dence, it is one of the most extraordinary in literature. 



56 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

In the following poem, therefore, images and inci- 
dents have been borrowed, not merely without scruple, 
but on principle, from the incomparable battle-pieces of 
Homer. 
5 The popular belief at Rome, from an early period, 
seems to have been that the event of the great day of 
Regillus was decided by supernatural agency. Castor 
and Pollux, it was said, had fought, armed and mounted, 
at the head of the legions of the commonwealth, and had 

io afterwards carried the news of the victory with incred- 
ible speed to the city. The well in the Forum at which 
they had alighted was pointed out. Near the well rose 
their ancient temple. A great festival was kept to their 
honor on the Ides of Quintilis, supposed to be the anni- 

15 versary of the battle ; and on that day sumptuous sacri- 
fices were offered to them at the public charge. One 
spot on the margin of Lake Regillus was regarded during 
many ages with superstitious awe. A mark, resembling 
in shape a horse's hoof, was discernible in the volcanic 

20 rock ; and this mark was believed to have been made by 
one of the celestial chargers. 

How the legend originated cannot now be ascertained, 
but we may easily imagine several ways in which it might 
have originated ; nor is it at all necessary to suppose, 

25 with. Julius Frontinus, that two young men were dressed 
up by the Dictator to personate the sons of Leda. It is 
probable that Livy is correct when he says that the 
Roman general, in the hour of peril, vowed a temple to 
Castor. If so, nothing could be more natural than that 

30 the multitude should ascribe the victory to the favor of 
the Twin Gods. When such was the prevailing senti- 
ment, any man who chose to declare that, in the midst of 
the confusion and slaughter, he had seen two godlike 
forms on white horses scattering: the Latines would find 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 57 

ready credence. We know, indeed, that in modern times 
a very similar story actually found credence among a 
people much more civilized than the Romans of the fifth 
century before Christ. A chaplain of Cortes, writing 
about thirty years after the conquest of Mexico, in an 5 
age of printing presses, libraries, universities, scholars, 
logicians, jurists, and statesmen, had the face to assert 
that, in one engagement against the Indians, Saint James 
had appeared on a gray horse at the head of the Castilian 
adventurers. Many of those adventurers were living when 10 
this lie was printed. One of them, honest Bernal Diaz, 
wrote an account of the expedition. He had the evi- 
dence of his own senses against the legend; but he seems 
to have distrusted even the evidence of his own senses. 
He says that he was in the battle, and that he saw a gray 15 
horse with a man on his back, but that the man was, to 
his thinking, Francesco de Morla, and not the ever- 
blessed apostle Saint James. " Nevertheless," Bernal 
adds, " it may be that the person on the gray horse was 
the glorious apostle Saint James, and that I, sinner that I 20 
am, was unworthy to see him." The Romans of the age 
of Cincinnatus were probably quite as credulous as the 
Spanish subjects of Charles the Fifth. It is therefore con- 
ceivable that the appearance of Castor and Pollux may 
have become an article of faith before the generation 25 
which had fought at Regillus had passed away. Nor 
could anything be more natural than that the poets of 
the next age should embellish this story, and make the 
celestial horsemen bear the tidings of victory to Rome. 

Many years after the temple of the Twin Gods had 30 
been built in the Forum, an important addition was made 
to the ceremonial by which the state annually testified its 
gratitude for their protection. Quintus Fabius and Pub- 
lius Decius were elected Censors at a momentous crisis. 



58 LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

It had become absolutely necessary that the classification 
of the citizens should be revised. On that classification 
depended the distribution of political power. Party-spirit 
ran high ; and the republic seemed to be in danger of 
5 falling under the dominion either of a narrow oligarchy 
or of an ignorant and headstrong rabble. Under such 
circumstances, the most illustrious patrician and the most 
illustrious plebeian of the age were entrusted with the 
ofiice of arbitrating between the angry factions ; and 

10 they performed their arduous task to the satisfaction of 
all honest and reasonable men. 

One of their reforms was a remodelling of the equestrian 
order ; and, having effected this reform, they determined 
to give to their work a sanction derived from religion. In 

l 5 the chivalrous societies of modern times, societies which 
have much more than may at first sight appear in common 
with the equestrian order of Rome, it has been usual to 
invoke the special protection of some Saint, and to ob- 
serve his day with peculiar solemnity. Thus the Com- 

20 panions of the Garter wear the image of Saint George 
depending from their collars, and meet on great occasions 
in Saint George's Chapel. Thus, when Lewis the Four- 
teenth instituted a new order of chivalry for the reward- 
ing of military merit, he commended it to the favor of his 

25 own glorified ancestor and patron, and decreed that all 
the members of the fraternity should meet at the royal 
palace on the feast of Saint Lewis, should attend the king 
to chapel, should hear mass, and should subsequently hold 
their great annual assembly. There is a considerable re- 

30 semblance between this rule of the order of Saint Lewis 
and the rule which Fabius and Decius made respecting 
the Roman Knights. It was ordained that a grand mus- 
ter and inspection of the equestrian body should be part 
of the ceremonial performed, on the anniversary of the 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 59 

battle of Regillus, in honor of Castor and Pollux, the 
two equestrian Gods. All the Knights, clad in purple 
and crowned with olive, were to meet at a temple of Mars 
in the suburbs. Thence they were to ride in state to the 
Forum, where the temple of the Twins stood. This pag- 5 
eant was, during several centuries, considered as one of 
the most splendid sights of Rome. In the time of Dio- 
nysius the cavalcade sometimes consisted of five thousand 
horsemen, all persons of fair repute and easy fortune. 1 

There can be no doubt that the Censors who instituted x ° 
this august ceremony acted in concert with the Pontiffs, 
to whom, by the constitution of Rome, the superintend- 
ence of the public worship belonged ; and it is probable 
that those high religious functionaries were, as usual, for- 
tunate enough to find in their books or traditions some 15 
warrant for the innovation. 

The following poem is supposed to have been made for 
this great occasion. Songs, we know, were chanted at 
the religious festivals of Rome from an early period, — 
indeed from so early a period that some of the sacred 20 
verses were popularly ascribed to Numa, and were utterly 
unintelligible in the age of Augustus. In the Second 
Punic War a great feast was held in honor of Juno, and 
a song was sung in her praise. This song was extant 
when Livy wrote ; and, though exceedingly rugged and 2 5 
uncouth, seemed to him not wholly destitute of merit. 2 
A song, as we learn from Horace, 3 was part of the estab- 
lished ritual at the great Secular Jubilee. It is therefore 
likely that the Censors and Pontiffs, when they had 

1 See Livy, ix. 46. Val. Max. ii. 2. Aurel. Vict. De Viris 
Illustribus, 32. Dionysius, vi. 13. Plin. Hist. Nat. xv. 5. See 
also the singularly ingenious chapter in Niebuhr's posthumous vol- 
ume, Die Censur des Q. Fabius tend P. Decius. 

2 Livy, xxvii. yj . 3 lIor. Carmen Saeculare. 






60 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

resolved to add a grand procession of Knights to the 
other solemnities annually performed on the Ides of Quin- 
tilis, would call in the aid of a poet. Such a poet would 
naturally take for his subject the battle of Regillus, the 
5 appearance of the Twin Gods, and the institution of their 
festival. He would find abundant materials in the bal- 
lads of his predecessors ; and he would make free use of 
the scanty stock of Greek learning which he had himself 
acquired. He would probably introduce some wise and 

10 holy Pontiff enjoining the magnificent ceremonial, which 
after a long interval had at length been adopted. If the 
poem succeeded, many persons would commit it to mem- 
ory. Parts of it would be sung to the pipe at banquets. 
It would be peculiarly interesting to the great Posthumian 

15 House, which numbered among its many images that of 
the Dictator Aulus, the hero of Regillus. The orator 
who, in the following generation, pronounced the funeral 
panegyric over the remains of Lucius Posthumius Megel- 
lus, thrice Consul, would borrow largely from the lay; 

20 and thus some passages, much disfigured, would probably 
find their way into the chronicles which were afterwards 
in the hands of Dionysius and Livy. 

Antiquaries differ widely as to the situation of the field 
of battle. The opinion of those who suppose that the 

25 armies met near Cornufelle, between Frascati and the 
Monte Porzio, is at least plausible, and has been fol- 
lowed in the poem. 

As to the details of the battle, it has not been thought 
desirable to adhere minutely to the accounts which have 

30 come down to us. Those accounts, indeed, differ widely 

from each other, and in all probability differ as widely from 

the ancient poem from which they were originally derived. 

It is unnecessary to point out the obvious imitations 

of the Iliad, which have been purposely introduced. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 61 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 

A LAY SUNG AT THE FEAST OF CASTOR AND POLLUX, ON 
THE IDES OF QUINTILIS, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY 
CCCCLI. 

I. 

Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note ! 

Ho, lictors, clear the way ! 
The Knights will ride in all their pride 

Along the streets to-day. 
To-day the doors and windows 5 

Are hung with garlands all, 
From Castor in the Forum 

To Mars without the wall. 
Each Knight is robed in purple, 

With olive each is crowned ; 10 

A gallant war-horse under each 

Paws haughtily the ground. 
While flows the Yellow River, 

While stands the Sacred Hill, 
The proud Ides of Quintilis 15 

Shall have such honor still. 
Gay are the Martian Kalends, 

December's Nones are gay ; 
But the proud Ides, when the squadron rides, 

Shall be Rome's whitest day. 20 

11. 

Unto the Great Twin Brethren 

We keep this solemn feast. 
Swift, swift, the Great Twin Brethren 

Came spurring from the east. 



62 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

They came o'er wild Parthenius 25 

Tossing in waves of pine, 
O'er Cirrha's dome, o'er Adria's foam, 

O'er purple Apennine ; 
From where with flutes and dances 

Their ancient mansion rings 3° 

In lordly Lacedaemon, 

The city of two kings, 
To where, by Lake Regillus, 

Under the Porcian height, 
All in the lands of Tusculum, 35 

Was fought the glorious fight. 

in. 

Now on the place of slaughter 

Are cots and sheepfolds seen, 
And rows of vines and fields of wheat 

And apple-orchards green ; 40 

The swine crush the big acorns 

That fall from Corne's oaks ; 
Upon the turf by the Fair Fount 

The reaper's pottage smokes. 
The fisher baits his angle, 45 

The hunter twangs his bow; 
Little they think on those strong limbs 

That moulder deep below. 
Little they think how sternly 

That day the trumpets pealed ; 5° 

How in the slippery swamp of blood 

Warrior and war-horse reeled; 
How wolves came with fierce gallop, 

And crows on eager wings, 
To tear the flesh of captains, 55 

And peck the eyes of kings ; 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 63 

How thick the dead lay scattered 

Under the Porcian height ; 
How through the gates of Tusculum 

Raved the wild stream of flight ; 60 

And how the Lake Regillus 

Bubbled with crimson foam, 
What time the Thirty Cities 

Came forth to war with Rome. 

IV. 

But, Roman, when thou standest 65 

Upon that holy ground, 
Look thou with heed on the dark rock 

That girds the dark lake round ; 
So shalt thou see a hoof-mark 

Stamped deep into the flint ; 7° 

It was no hoof of mortal steed 

That made so strange a dint. 
There to the Great Twin Brethren 

Vow thou thy vows, and pray 
That they, in tempest and in fight, 75 

Will keep thy head alway. 

v. 

Since last the Great Twin Brethren 

Of mortal eyes were seen, 
Have years gone by an hundred 

And fourscore and thirteen. 8o 

That summer a Virginius 

Was Consul first in place ; 
The second was stout Aulus, 

Of the Posthumian race. 
The Herald of the Latines 8 5 

From Gabii came in state ; 



64 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

The Herald of the Latines 

Passed through Rome's Eastern Gate ; 

The Herald of the Latines 

Did in our Forum stand, 9° 

And there he did his office, 
A sceptre in his hand : 

VI. 

" Hear, Senators and people 

Of the good town of Rome, 
The Thirty Cities charge you 95 

To bring the Tarquins home ; 
And if ye still be stubborn 

To work the Tarquins wrong, 
The Thirty Cities warn you, 

Look that your walls be strong." I0 ° 

VII. 

Then spake the Consul Aulus — 

He spake a bitter jest — 
" Once the jays sent a message 

Unto the eagle's nest : 
' Now yield thou up thine eyrie I0 5 

Unto the carrion-kite, 
Or come forth valiantly and face 

The jays in deadly fight.' 
Forth looked in wrath the eagle ; 

And carrion-kite and jay, II0 

Soon as they saw his beak and claw, 

Fled screaming far away." 

VIII. 

The Herald of the Latines 
Hath hied him back in state ; 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 65 

The Fathers of the City "5 

Are met in high debate. 
Then spake the elder Consul, 

An ancient man and wise : 
"Now hearken, Conscript Fathers, 

To that which I advise. 120 

In seasons of great peril 

'T is good that one bear sway ; 
Then choose we a Dictator, 

Whom all men shall obey. 
Camerium knows how deeply I2 5 

The sword of Aulus bites, 
And all our city calls him 

The man of seventy fights. 
Then let him be Dictator 

For six months and no more, l 3° 

And have a Master of the Knights, 

And axes twenty-four." 

IX. 

So Aulus was Dictator, 

The man of seventy fights ; 
He made ^Ebutius Elva *35 

His Master of the Knights. 
On the third morn thereafter, 

At dawning of the day, 
Did Aulus and ^Ebutius 

Set forth with their array. H 

Sempronius Atratinus 

Was left in charge at home 
With boys and with gray-headed men 

To keep the walls of Rome. 
Hard by the Lake Regillus T 45 

Our camp was pitched at night ; 



66 LAYS OF A ANCIENT ROME. 

Eastward a mile the Latines lay, 

Under the Porcian height. 
Far over hill and valley 

Their mighty host was spread, 15° 

And with their thousand watch-fires 

The midnight sky was red. 

x. 

Up rose the golden morning 

Over the Porcian height, 
The proud Ides of Quintilis *55 

Marked evermore with white. 
Not without secret trouble 

Our bravest saw the foes ; 
For girt by threescore thousand spears 

The thirty standards rose. l6 ° 

From every warlike city 

That boasts the Latian name, 
Foredoomed to dogs and vultures, 

That gallant army came : 
From Setia's purple vineyards, J 65 

From Norba's ancient wall, 
From the white streets of Tusculum, 

The proudest town of all ; 
From where the Witch's Fortress 

O'erhangs the dark-blue seas; l 7° 

From the still glassy lake that sleeps 

Beneath Aricia's trees — 
Those trees in whose dim shadow 

The ghastly priest doth reign, 
The priest who slew the slayer, *75 

And shall himself be slain ; 
From the drear banks of Ufens, 

Where flights of marsh-fowl play, 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 67 

And buffaloes lie wallowing 

Through the hot summer's day ; l8 ° 

From the gigantic watch-towers, 

No work of earthly men, 
Whence Cora's sentinels o'erlook 

The never-ending fen ; 
From the Laurentian jungle, l8 5 

The wild hog's reedy home ; 
From the green steeps whence Anio leaps 

In floods of snow-white foam. 

XL 

Aricia, Cora, Norba, 

Velitrae, with the might *9° 

Of Setia and of Tusculum, 

Were marshalled on the right. 
Their leader was Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name; 
Upon his head a helmet J 95 

Of red gold shone like flame ; 
High on a gallant charger 

Of dark-gray hue he rode ; 
Over his gilded armor 

A vest of purple flowed, 20 ° 

Woven in the land of sunrise 

By Syria's dark-browed daughters, 
And by the sails of Carthage brought 

Far o'er the southern waters. 

XII. 

Lavinium and Laurentum 205 

Had on the left their post, 
With all the banners of the marsh 

And banners of the coast. 



68 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Their leader was false Sextus, 

That wrought the deed of shame ; 210 

With restless pace and haggard face 

To his last field he came. 
Men said he saw strange visions 

Which none beside might see, 
And that strange sounds were in his ears 215 

Which none might hear but he. 
A woman fair and stately, 

But pale as are the dead, 
Oft through the watches of the night 

Sat spinning by his bed. 220 

And as she plied the distaff, 

In a sweet voice and low 
She sang of great old houses 

And fights fought long ago. 
So spun she and so sang she 225 

Until the east was gray, 
Then pointed to her bleeding breast, 

And shrieked, and fled away. 

XIII. 

But in the centre thickest 

Were ranged the shields of foes, 230 

And from the centre loudest 

The cry of battle rose. 
There Tibur marched and Pedum 

Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, 
And Ferentinum of the rock, 235 

And Gabii of the pool. 
There rode the Volscian succors ; 

There, in a dark stern ring, 
The Roman exiles gathered close 

Around the ancient king. 240 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 69 

Though white as Mount Soracte, 

When winter nights are long, 
His beard flowed down o'er mail and belt, 

His heart and hand were strong; 
Under his hoary eyebrows 245 

Still flashed forth quenchless rage, 
And, if the lance shook in his gripe, 

'T was more with hate than age. 
Close at his side was Titus 

On an Apulian steed — 250 

Titus, the youngest Tarquin, 

Too good for such a breed. 

XIV. 

Now on each side the leaders 

Give signal for the charge ; 
And on each side the footmen 255 

Strode on with lance and targe ; 
And on each side the horsemen 

Struck their spurs deep in gore, 
And front to front the armies 

Met with a mighty roar; 260 

And under that great battle 

The earth with blood was red ; 
And, like the Pomptine fog at morn, 

The dust hung overhead ; 
And louder still and louder 265 

Rose from the darkened field 
The braying of the war-horns, 

The clang of sword and shield, 
The rush of squadrons sweeping 

Like whirlwinds o'er the plain, 270 

The shouting of the slayers 

And screeching of the slain. 



70 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



XV. 



False Sextus rode out foremost, 

His look was high and bold ; 
His corslet was of bison's hide, 2 75 

Plated with steel and gold. 
As glares the famished eagle 

From the Digentian rock 
On a choice lamb that bounds alone 

Before Bandusia's flock, 280 

Herminius glared on Sextus 

And came with eagle speed, 
Herminius on black Auster, 

Brave champion on brave steed ; 
In his right hand the broadsword 285 

That kept the bridge so well, 
And on his helm the crown he won 

When proud Fidenae fell. 
Woe to the maid whose lover 

Shall cross his path to-day ! 290 

False Sextus saw and trembled, 

And turned and fled away. 
As turns, as flies, the woodman 

In the Calabrian brake, 
When through the reeds gleams the round eye 295 

Of that fell speckled snake, 
So turned, so fled, false Sextus, 

And hid him in the rear, 
Behind the dark Lavinian ranks 

Bristling with crest and spear. 3°° 



XVI. 



But far to north ^Ebutius, 
The Master of the Knights, 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 71 

Gave Tubero of Norba 

To feed the Porcian kites. 
Next under those red horse-hoofs 3°5 

Flaccus of Setia lay ; 
Better had he been pruning 

Among his elms that day. 
Mamilius saw the slaughter, 

And tossed his golden crest, 3 l ° 

And towards the Master of the Knights 

Through the thick battle pressed. 
^Ebutius smote Mamilius 

So fiercely on the shield 
That the great lord of Tusculum 3*5 

Well nigh rolled on the field. 
Mamilius smote ^Ebutius, 

With a good aim and true, 
Just where the neck and shoulder join, 

And pierced him through and through ; 3 20 

And brave ^butius Elva 

Fell swooning to the ground, 
But a thick wall of bucklers 

Encompassed him around. 
His clients from the battle 3 2 5 

Bare him some little space, 
And filled a helm from the dark lake, 

And bathed his brow and face; 
And when at last he opened 

His swimming eyes to light, 33° 

Men say the earliest word he spake 

Was, " Friends, how goes the fight ? " 

XVII. 

But meanwhile in the centre 

Great deeds of arms were wrought; 



72 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

There Aulus the Dictator 335 

And there Valerius fought. 
Aulus with his good broadsword 

A bloody passage cleared 
To where, amidst the thickest foes, 

He saw the long white beard. 34° 

Flat lighted that good broadsword 

Upon proud Tarquin's head. 
He dropped the lance, he dropped the reins ; 

He fell as fall the dead. 
Down Aulus springs to slay him, 345 

With eyes like coals of fire ; 
But faster Titus hath sprung down, 

And hath bestrode his sire. 
Latian captains, Roman knights, 

Fast down to earth they spring, 35° 

And hand to hand they fight on foot 

Around the ancient king. 
First Titus gave tall Caeso 

A death wound in the face ; 
Tall Caeso was the bravest man 355 

Of the brave Fabian race ; 
Aulus slew Rex of Gabii, 

The priest of Juno's shrine ; 
Valerius smote down Julius, 

Of Rome's great Julian line — 3°° 

Julius, who left his mansion 

High on the Velian hill, 
And through all turns of weal and woe 

Followed proud Tarquin still. 
Now right across proud Tarquin 3 6 5 

A corpse was Julius laid ; 
And Titus groaned with rage and grief, 

And at Valerius made. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE R EG I L IMS. 73 

Valerius struck at Titus 

And lopped off half his crest ; V° 

But Titus stabbed Valerius 

A span deep in the breast. 
Like a mast snapped by the tempest, 

Valerius reeled and fell. 
Ah! woe is me for the good house 375 

That loves the people well ! 
Then shouted loud the Latines, 

And with one rush they bore 
The struggling Romans backward 

Three lances' length and more ; 3 8 ° 

And up they took proud Tarquin 

And laid him on a shield, 
And four strong yeomen bare him, 

Still senseless, from the field. 

XVIII. 

But fiercer grew the fighting 3 8 5 

Around Valerius dead; 
For Titus dragged him by the foot, 

And Aulus by the head. 
" On, Latines, on ! " quoth Titus, 

" See how the rebels fly ! " 39° 

" Romans, stand firm ! " quoth Aulus, 

" And win this fight or die ! 
They must not give Valerius 

To raven and to kite ; 
For aye Valerius loathed the wrong, 395 

And aye upheld the right ; 
And for your wives and babies 

In the front rank he fell. 
Now play the men for the good house 

That loves the people well ! " 4°° 



74 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 



XIX. 



Then tenfold round the body 

The roar of battle rose, 
Like the roar of a burning forest 

When a strong north wind blows. 
Now backward and now forward 405 

Rocked furiously the fray, 
Till none could see Valerius, 

And none wist where he lay. 
For shivered arms and ensigns 

Were heaped there in a mound, 4'o 

And corpses stiff, and dying men 

That writhed and gnawed the ground ; 
And wounded horses kicking 

And snorting purple foam ; 
Right well did such a couch befit 4 T 5 

A Consular of Rome. 

xx. 

But north looked the Dictator; 

North looked he long and hard, 
And spake to Caius Cossus, 

The Captain of his Guard: 420 

" Caius, of all the Romans 

Thou hast the keenest sight ; 
Say, what through yonder storm of dust 

Comes from the Latian right ? " 

XXI. 

Then answered Caius Cossus : 4 2 5 

" I see an evil sight ; 
The banner of proud Tusculum 

Comes from the Latian right. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 75 

I see the plumed horsemen ; 

And far before the rest 43° 

I see the dark-gray charger, 

I see the purple vest, 
I see the golden helmet 

That shines far of! like flame ; 
So ever rides Mamilius, 435 

Prince of the Latian name." 

XXII. 

" Now hearken, Caius Cossus ; 

Spring on thy horse's back ; 
Ride as the wolves of Apennine 

Were all upon thy track ; 440 

Haste to our southward battle, 

And never draw thy rein 
Until thou find Herminius, 

And bid him come amain." 

XXIII. 

So Aulus spake, and turned him 445 

Again to that fierce strife ; 
And Caius Cossus mounted, 

And rode for death and life. 
Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs 

The helmets of the dead, 45° 

And many a curdling pool of blood 

Splashed him from heel to head. 
So came he far to southward, 

Where fought the Roman host 
Against the banners of the marsh 455 

And banners of the coast. 
Like corn before the sickle 

The stout Lavinians fell 



76 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Beneath the edge of the true sword 

That kept the bridge so well. 460 

XXIV. 

" Herminius, Aulus greets thee ; 

He bids thee come with speed 
To help our central battle, 

For sore is there our need. 
There wars the youngest Tarquin, 465 

And there the Crest of Flame, 
The Tusculan Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name. 
Valerius hath fallen fighting 

In front of our array, 47° 

And Aulus of the seventy fields 

Alone upholds the day." 

xxv. 
Herminius beat his bosom, 

But never a word he spake. 
He clapped his hand on Auster's mane, 475 

He gave the reins a shake ; 
Away, away, went Auster 

Like an arrow from the bow ; 
Black Auster was the fleetest steed 

From Aufidus to Po. 480 

xxvi. 
Right glad were all the Romans 

Who, in that hour of dread, 
Against great odds bare up the war 

Around Valerius dead, 
When from the south the cheering 485 

Rose with a mighty swell : 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 11 

" Herminius comes, Herminius, 
Who kept the bridge so well!" 

XXVII. 

Mamilius spied Herminius, 

And dashed across the way : 49° 

" Herminius, I have sought thee 

Through many a bloody day. 
One of us two, Herminius, 

Shall never more go home. 
I will lay on for Tusculum, 495 

And lay thou on for Rome ! " 

XXVIII. 

All round them paused the battle, 

While met in mortal fray 
The Roman and the Tusculan, 

The horses black and gray. 5 00 

Herminius smote Mamilius 

Through breastplate and through breast, 
And fast flowed out the purple blood 

Over the purple vest. 
Mamilius smote Herminius 5°5 

Through head-piece and through head ; 
And side by side those chiefs of pride 

Together fell down dead. 
Down fell they dead together 

In a great lake of gore ; 5 10 

And still stood all who saw them fall 

While men might count a score. 

XXIX. 

Fast, fast, with heels wild spurning, 
The dark-gray charger rled ; 



78 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

He burst through ranks of fighting men, 5 T 5 

He sprang o'er heaps of dead. 
His bridle far outstreaming, 

His flanks all blood and foam, 
He sought the southern mountains, 

The mountains of his home. 5 2 ° 

The pass was steep and rugged, 

The wolves they howled and whined ; 
But he ran like a whirlwind up the pass, 

And he left the wolves behind. 
Through many a startled hamlet 5 2 5 

Thundered his flying feet ; 
He rushed through the gate of Tusculum, 

He rushed up the long white street ; 
He rushed by tower and temple, 

And paused not from his race 53° 

Till he stood before his master's door 

In the stately market-place. 
And straightway round him gathered 

A pale and trembling crowd ; 
And, when they knew him, cries of rage 535 

Brake forth, and wailing loud ; 
And women rent their tresses 

For their great prince's fall ; 
And old men girt on their old swords, 

And went to man the wall. 54° 

xxx. 
But like a graven image 

Black Auster kept his place, 
And ever wistfully he looked 

Into his master's face. 
The raven mane that daily, 545 

With pats and fond caresses, 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 



79 



560 



The young Herminia washed and combed, 

And twined in even tresses, 
And decked with colored ribbons 

From her own gay attire, 55° 

Hung sadly o'er her father's corpse 

In carnage and in mire. 
Forth with a shout sprang Titus 

And seized black Auster's rein. 
Then Aulus sware a fearful oath, 555 

And ran at him amain : 
" The furies of thy brother 
With me and mine abide, 
If one of your accursed house 

Upon black Auster ride! " 
As on an Alpine watch-tower 

From heaven comes down the flame, 
Full on the neck of Titus 

The blade of Aulus came ; 
And out the red blood spouted 5 6 5 

In a wide arch and tall, 
As spouts a fountain in the court 

Of some rich Capuan's hall. 
The knees of all the Latines 

Were loosened with dismay 57° 

When dead, on dead Herminius, 
The bravest Tarquin lay. 

XXXI. 

And Aulus the Dictator 

Stroked Auster's raven mane ; 
With heed he looked unto the girths, 575 

With heed unto the rein : 
" Now bear me well, black Auster, 

Into yon thick array, 



80 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And thou and I will have revenge 

For thy good lord this day." 5 8 ° 

XXXII. 

So spake he, and was buckling 

Tighter black Auster's band, 
When he was aware of a princely pair 

That rode at his right hand. 
So like they were, no mortal 5 8 5 

Might one from other know; 
White as snow their armor was, 

Their steeds were white as snow. 
Never on earthly anvil 

Did such rare armor gleam, 59° 

And never did such gallant steeds 

Drink of an earthly stream. 

XXXIII. 

And all who saw them trembled, 

And pale grew every cheek ; 
And Aulus the Dictator 595 

Scarce gathered voice to speak : 
" Say by what name men call you ; 

What city is your home ? 
And wherefore ride ye in such guise 

Before the ranks of Rome ? " 6oo 

xxxiv. 
" By many names men call us, 

In many lands we dwell : 
Well Samothracia knows us, 

Cyrene knows us well; 
Our house in gay Tarentum 6o 5 

Is hung each morn with flowers ; 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 81 

High o'er the masts of Syracuse 

Our marble portal towers ; 
But by the proud Eurotas 

Is our dear native home ; 610 

And for the right we come to fight 

Before the ranks of Rome." 

xxxv. 
So answered those strange horsemen, 

And each couched low his spear ; 
And forthwith all the ranks of Rome 615 

Were bold and of good cheer ; 
And on the thirty armies 

Came wonder and affright, 
And Ardea wavered on the left, 

And Cora on the right. 620 

" Rome to the charge ! " cried Aulus ; 

" The foe begins to yield ! 
Charge for the hearth of Vesta ! 

Charge for the Golden Shield ! 
Let no man stop to plunder, 625 

But slay, and slay, and slay ; 
The Gods who live forever 

Are on our side to-day." 

xxxvi. 
Then the fierce trumpet-flourish 

From earth to heaven arose. 630 

The kites know well the long stern swell 

That bids the Romans close. 
Then the good sword of Aulus 

Was lifted up to slay; 
Then like a crag down Apennine 635 

Rushed Auster through the fray. 



82 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

But under those strange horsemen 

Still thicker lay the slain; 
And after those strange horses 

Black Auster toiled in vain. 640 

Behind them Rome's long battle 

Came rolling on the foe, 
Ensigns dancing wild above, 

Blades all in line below. 
So comes the Po in flood-time 645 

Upon the Celtic plain ; 
So comes the squall, blacker than night, 

Upon the Adrian main. 
Now, by our Sire Quirinus, 

It was a goodly sight 650 

To see the thirty standards 

Swept down the tide of flight. 
So flies the spray of Adria 

When the black squall doth blow ; 
So corn-sheaves in the flood-time 655 

Spin down the whirling Po. 
False Sextus to the mountains 

Turned first his horse's head; 
And fast fled Ferentinum, 

And fast Lanuvium fled. 660 

The horsemen of Nomentum 

Spurred hard out of the fray ; 
The footmen of Velitrae 

Threw shield and spear away; 
And underfoot was trampled, 665 

Amidst the mud and gore, 
The banner of proud Tusculum, 

That never stooped before ; 
And down went Flavius Faustus, 

Who led his stately ranks 670 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. S3 

From where the apple-blossoms wave 

On Anio's echoing banks ; 
And Tullus of Arpinum, 

Chief of the Volscian aids, 
And Metius with the long fair curls, 675 

The love of Anxur's maids, 
And the white head of Vulso, 

The great Arician seer, 
And Nepos of Laurentum, 

The hunter of the deer; 68 ° 

And in the back false Sextus 

Felt the good Roman steel, 
And wriggling in the dust he died 

Like a worm beneath the wheel ; 
And fliers and pursuers 68 5 

Were mingled in a mass ; 
And far away the battle 

Went roaring through the pass. 

XXXVII 

Sempronius Atratinus 

Sat in the Eastern Gate ; 6 9° 

Beside him were three Fathers, 

Each in his chair of state — 
Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons 

That day were in the field, 
And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve 6 95 

Who kept the Golden Shield, 
And Sergius, the High Pontiff, 

For wisdom far renowned; 
In all Etruria's colleges 

Was no such Pontiff found. I 00 

And all around the portal, 

And high above the wall, 



84 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Stood a great throng of people, 

But sad and silent all ; 
Young lads and stooping elders 705 

That might not bear the mail, 
Matrons with lips that quivered, 

And maids with faces pale. 
Since the first gleam of daylight, 

Sempronius had not ceased 7 IQ 

To listen for the rushing 

Of horse-hoofs from the east. 
The mist of eve was rising, 

The sun was hastening down, 
When he was aware of a princely pair 7 J 5 

Fast pricking towards the town. 
So like they were, man never 

Saw twins so like before ; 
Red with gore their armor was, 

Their steeds were red with gore. 7 20 

XXXVIII. 

" Hail to the great Asylum ! 

Hail to the hill-tops seven ! 
Hail to the fire that burns for aye, 

And the shield that fell from heaven ! 
This day, by Lake Regillus, 725 

Under the Porcian height, 
All in the lands of Tusculum, 

Was fought a glorious , fight. 
To-morrow your Dictator 

Shall bring in triumph home 730 

The spoils of thirty cities 

To deck the shrines of Rome ! " 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 85 



XXXIX. 

Then burst from that great concourse 

A shout that shook the towers, 
And some ran north, and some ran south, 735 

Crying, " The day is ours ! " 
But on rode the strange horsemen 

With slow and lordly pace, 
And none who saw their bearing 

Durst ask their name or race. 740 

On rode they to the Forum, 

While laurel-boughs and flowers, 
From housetops and from windows, 

Fell on their crests in showers. 
When they drew nigh to Vesta, 745 

They vaulted down amain, 
And washed their horses in the well 

That springs by Vesta's fane. 
And straight again they mounted, 

And rode to Vesta's door ; 75° 

Then, like a blast, away they passed, 

And no man saw them more. 

XL. 

And all the people trembled, 

And pale grew every cheek ; 
And Sergius the High Pontiff 755 

Alone found voice to speak : 
" The Gods who live forever 

Have fought for Rome to-day ! 
These be the Great Twin Brethren 

To whom the Dorians pray. 760 

Back comes the Chief in triumph 

Who in the hour of fight 



86 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 

Hath seen the Great Twin Brethren 

In harness on his right. 
Safe comes the ship to haven, 765 

Through billows and through gales, 
If once the Great Twin Brethren 

Sit shining on the sails. 
Wherefore they washed their horses 

In Vesta's holy well, 77° 

Wherefore they rode to Vesta's door, 

I know, but may not tell. 
Here, hard by Vesta's Temple, 

Build we a stately dome 
Unto the Great Twin Brethren 775 

Who fought so well for Rome. 
And when the months returning 

Bring back this day of fight, 
The proud Ides of Quintilis, 

Marked evermore with white, 780 

Unto the Great Twin Brethren 

Let all the people throng 
With chaplets and with offerings, 

With music and with song ; 
And let the doors and windows 785 

Be hung with garlands all, 
And let the Knights be summoned 

To Mars without the wall ; 
Thence let them ride in purple 

With joyous trumpet-sound, 79° 

Each mounted on his war-horse, 

And each with olive crowned ; 
And pass in solemn order 

Before the sacred dome 
Where dwell the Great Twin Brethren 795 

Who fought so well for Rome ! " 



VIRGINIA 



A collection consisting exclusively of war-songs would 
give an imperfect, or rather an erroneous, notion of the 
spirit of the old Latin ballads. The Patricians, during 
more than a century after the expulsion of the Kings, 
held all the high military commands, A Plebeian, even 5 
though, like Lucius Siccius, he were distinguished by his 
valor and knowledge of war, could serve only in subor- 
dinate posts. A minstrel, therefore, who wished to cele- 
brate the early triumphs of his country, could hardly take 
any but Patricians for his heroes. The warriors who are 10 
mentioned in the two preceding lays, Horatius, Lartius, 
Herminius, Aulus Posthumius, ^Ebutius Elva, Sempro- 
nius Atratinus, Valerius Poplicola, were all members of 
the dominant order ; and a poet who was singing their 
praises, whatever his own political opinions might be, 15 
would naturally abstain from insulting the class to which 
they belonged, and from reflecting on the system which 
had placed such men at the head of the legions of the 
Commonwealth. 

But there was a class of compositions in which the 20 
great families were by no means so courteously treated. 
No parts of early Roman history are richer with poetical 
coloring than those which relate to the long contest be- 
tween the privileged houses and the commonalty. The 
population of Rome was, from a very early period, divided 25 
into hereditary castes, which, indeed, readily united to 
repel foreign enemies, but which regarded each other, 

87 



88 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

during many years, with bitter animosity. Between those 
castes there was a barrier hardly less strong than that 
which, at Venice, parted the members of the Great Coun- 
cil from their countrymen. In some respects, indeed, the 
5 line which separated an Icilius or a Duilius from a Pos- 
thumius or a Fabius was even more deeply marked than 
that which separated the rower of a gondola from a 
Contarini or a Morosini. At Venice the distinction was 
merely civil. At Rome it was both civil and religious. 

10 Among the grievances under which the Plebeians suf- 
fered, three were felt as peculiarly severe. They were 
excluded from the highest magistracies ; they were ex- 
cluded from all share in the public lands ; and they were 
ground down to the dust by partial and barbarous legis- 

15 lation touching pecuniary contracts. The ruling class in 
Rome was a moneyed class ; and it made and adminis- 
tered the laws with a view solely to its own interest. 
Thus the relation between lender and borrower was 
mixed up with the relation between sovereign and 

20 subject. The great men held a large portion of the 
community in dependence by means of advances at 
enormous usury. The law of debt, framed by creditors 
and for the protection of creditors, was the most horrible 
that has ever been known among men. The liberty and 

25 even the life of the insolvent were at the mercy of the 
Patrician money-lenders. Children often became slaves 
in consequence of the misfortunes of their parents. The 
debtor was imprisoned, not in a public gaol under the care 
of impartial public functionaries, but in a private work- 

30 house belonging to the creditor. Frightful stories were 
told respecting these dungeons. It was said that tor- 
ture and brutal violation were common ; that tight stocks, 
heavy chains, scanty measures of food, were used to pun- 
ish wretches guilty of nothing but poverty ; and that brave 



VIRGINIA. 89 

soldiers, whose breasts were covered with honorable scars, 
were often marked still more deeply on the back by the 
scourges of high-born usurers. 

The Plebeians were, however, not wholly without consti- 
tutional rights. From an early period they had been 5 
admitted to some share of political power. They were 
enrolled each in his century, and were allowed a share, 
considerable though not proportioned to their numerical 
strength, in the disposal of those high dignities from which 
they were themselves excluded. Thus their position bore 10 
some resemblance to that of the Irish Catholics during the 
interval between the year 1792 and the year 1829. The 
Plebeians had also the privilege of annually appointing 
officers, named Tribunes, who had no active share in the 
government of the Commonwealth, but who, by degrees, 15 
acquired a power formidable even to the ablest and most 
resolute Consuls and Dictators. The person of the Trib- 
une was inviolable ; and, though he could directly effect 
little, he could obstruct everything. 

During more than a century after the institution of the 20 
Tribuneship, the Commons struggled manfully for the re- 
moval of the grievances under which they labored ; and, in 
spite of many checks and reverses, succeeded in wringing 
concession after concession from the stubborn aristocracy. 
At length, in the year of the city 378, both parties mustered 25 
their whole strength for their last and most desperate con- 
flict. The popular and active Tribune, Caius Licinius, pro- 
posed the three memorable laws which are called by his 
name, and which were intended to redress the three great 
evils of which the Plebeians complained. He was sup- 30 
ported with eminent ability and firmness by his colleague, 
Lucius Sextius. The struggle appears to have been the 
fiercest that ever in any community terminated without an 
appeal to arms. If such a contest had raged in any Greek 



90 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

city, the streets would have run with blood. But, even in 
the paroxysms of faction, the Roman retained his gravity, 
his respect for law, and his tenderness for the lives of his 
fellow-citizens. Year after year Licinius and Sextius were 
5 re-elected Tribunes. Year after year, if the narrative which 
has come down to us is to be trusted, they continued to 
exert, to the full extent, their power of stopping the whole 
machine of government. No curule magistrates could 
be chosen ; no military muster could be held. We know 

io too little of the state of Rome in those days to be able to 
conjecture how, during that long anarchy, the peace was 
kept and ordinary justice administered between man and 
man. The animosity of both parties rose to the greatest 
height. The excitement, we may well suppose, would 

15 have been peculiarly intense at the annual election of 
Tribunes. On such occasions there can be little doubt 
that the great families did all that could be done, by 
threats and caresses, to break the union of the Plebeians. 
That union, however, proved indissoluble. At length the 

20 good cause triumphed. The Licinian laws were carried. 
Lucius Sextius was the first Plebeian Consul, Caius Licin- 
ius the third. 

The results of this great change were singularly happy 
and glorious. Two centuries of prosperity, harmony, and 

25 victory followed the reconciliation of the orders. Men 
who remembered Rome engaged in waging petty wars 
almost within sight of the Capitol lived to see her the 
mistress of Italy. While the disabilities of the Plebeians 
continued, she was scarcely able to maintain her ground 

30 against the Volscians and Hernicans. When those dis- 
abilities were removed, she rapidly became more than a 
match for Carthage and Macedon. 

During the great Licinian contest the Plebeian poets 
were, doubtless, not silent. Even in modern times songs 



VIRGINIA. 91 

have been by no means without influence on public affairs ; 
and we may therefore infer that, in a society where print- 
ing was unknown and where books were rare, a pathetic 
or humorous party-ballad must have produced effects such 
as we can but faintly conceive. It is certain that satirical 5 
poems were common at Rome from a very early period. 
The rustics, who lived at a distance from the seat of 
government, and took little part in the strife of factions, 
gave vent to their petty local animosities in coarse Fescen- 
nine verse. The lampoons of the city were doubtless of 10 
a higher order; and their sting was early felt by the 
nobility. For in the Twelve Tables, long before the time 
of the Licinian laws, a severe punishment was denounced 
against the citizen who should compose or recite verses 
reflecting on another. 1 Satire is, indeed, the only sort of 15 
composition in which the Latin poets whose works have 
come down to us were not mere imitators of foreign mod- 
els ; and it is therefore the only sort of composition in 
which they have never been rivalled. It was not, like 
their tragedy, their comedy, their epic and lyric poetry, a 20 
hothouse plant which, in return for assiduous and skil- 
ful culture, gave only scanty and sickly fruits. It was 
hardy and full of sap ; and in all the various juices which 
it yielded might be distinguished the flavor of the Auso- 
nian soil. " Satire," says Quinctilian with just pride, " is 25 
all our own." Satire sprang, in truth, naturally from the 
constitution of the Roman government and from the spirit 
of the Roman people ; and, though at length subjected 
to metrical rules derived from Greece, retained to the last 

1 Cicero justly infers from this law that there had been early Latin 
poets whose works had been lost before his time. ' Quamquam id 
quidem etiam xii tabulae declarant, condi jam turn solitum esse car- 
men, quod ne liceret fieri ad alterius injuriam lege sanxerunt.' — 
Tusc. iv. 2. 



92 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

an essentially Roman character. Lucilius was the earliest 
satirist whose works were held in esteem under the Caesars. 
But, many years before Lucilius was born, Naevius had 
been flung into a dungeon and guarded there with cir- 
5 cumstances of unusual rigor, on account of the bitter 
lines in which he had attacked the great Caecilian family. 1 
The genius and spirit of the Roman satirist survived the 
liberty of their country, and were not extinguished by the 
cruel despotism of the Julian and Flavian Emperors. 

10 The great poet who told the story of Domitian's turbot 

was the legitimate successor of those forgotten minstrels 

whose songs animated the factions of the infant Republic. 

These minstrels, as Niebuhr has remarked, appear to 

have generally taken the popular side. We can hardly be 

15 mistaken in supposing that, at the great crisis of the civil 
conflict, they employed themselves in versifying all the 
most powerful and virulent speeches of the Tribunes, and 
in heaping abuse on the leaders of the aristocracy. Every 
personal defect, every domestic scandal, every tradition 

20 dishonorable to a noble house, would be sought out, 
brought into notice, and exaggerated. The illustrious 
head of the aristocratical party, Marcus Furius Camillus, 
might perhaps be, in some measure, protected by his ven- 
erable age and by the memory of his great services to 

25 the State. But Appius Claudius Crassus enjoyed no such 
immunity. He was descended from a long line of ances- 
tors distinguished by their haughty demeanor, and by the 
inflexibility with which they had withstood all the demands 
of the Plebeian order. While the political conduct and 

30 the deportment of the Claudian nobles drew upon them 

the fiercest public hatred, they were accused of wanting, 

if any credit is due to the early history of Rome, a class 

of qualities which, in the military commonwealth, is suf- 

1 Plautus, Miles Gloriostts. Aulus Gellius, iii. 3. 



VIRGINIA. 93 

ficient to cover a multitude of offences. The chiefs of 
the family appear to have been eloquent, versed in civil 
business, and learned after the fashion of their age ; but 
in war they were not distinguished by skill or valor. 
Some of them, as if conscious where their weakness lay, 5 
had, when filling the highest magistracies, taken internal 
administration as their department of public business, 
and left the military command to their colleagues. 1 One 
of them had been intrusted with an army, and had failed 
ignominiously. 2 None of them had been honored with a 10 
triumph. None of them had achieved any martial exploit, 
such as those by which Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, 
Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Aulus Cornelius Cossus, 
and, above all, the great Camillus, had extorted the re- 
luctant esteem of the multitude. During the Licinian 15 
conflict, Appius Claudius Crassus signalized himself by 
the ability and severity with which he harangued against 
the two great agitators. He would naturally, therefore, 
be the favorite mark of the Plebeian satirists ; nor would 
they have been at a loss to find a point on which he was 20 
open to attack. 

His grandfather, called, like himself, Appius Claudius, 
had left a name as much detested as that of Sextus Tar- 
quinius. This elder Appius had been Consul more than 
seventy years before the introduction of the Licinian laws. 25 
By availing himself of a singular crisis in public feeling, 
he had obtained the consent of the Commons to the 
abolition of the Tribuneship, and had been the chief of 
that Council of Ten to which the whole direction of the 
State had been committed. In a few months his admin- 30 
istration had become universally odious. It had been 
swept away by an irresistible outbreak of popular fury ; 

1 In the years of the city 260, 304, 330. 

2 In the year of the city 282. 



94 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

and its memory was still held in abhorrence by the whole 
city. The immediate cause of the downfall of this execra- 
ble government was said to have been an attempt made 
by Appius Claudius upon the chastity of a beautiful young 
5 girl of humble birth. The story ran that the Decemvir, 
unable to succeed by bribes and solicitations, resorted to 
an outrageous act of tyranny. A vile dependant of the 
Claudian house laid claim to the damsel as his slave. 
The cause was brought before the tribunal of Appius. 

10 The wicked magistrate, in defiance of the clearest proofs, 
gave judgment for the claimant. But the girl's father, a 
brave soldier, saved her from servitude and dishonor by 
stabbing her to the heart in the sight of the whole Forum. 
That blow was the signal for a general explosion. Camp 

15 and city rose at once; the Ten were pulled down; the 
Tribuneship was re-established ; and Appius escaped the 
hands of the executioner only by a voluntary death. 

It can hardly be doubted that a story so admirably 
adapted to the purposes both of the poet and of the dema- 

20 gogue would be eagerly seized upon by minstrels burn- 
ing with hatred against the Patrician order, against the 
Claudian house, and especially against the grandson and 
namesake of the infamous Decemvir. 

In order that the reader may judge fairly of these frag- 

25 ments of the lay of Virginia, he must imagine himself a 
Plebeian who has just voted for the re-election of Sextius 
and Licinius. All the power of the Patricians has been 
exerted to throw out the two great champions of the 
Commons. Every Posthumius, vEmilius, and Cornelius 

30 has used his influence to the utmost. Debtors have been 
let out of the workhouses on condition of voting against 
the men of the people ; clients have been posted to hiss 
and interrupt the favorite candidates ; Appius Claudius 
Crassus has spoken with more than his usual eloquence 



VIRGINIA. 95 

and asperity; all has been in vain; Licinius and Sextius 
have a fifth time carried all the tribes; work is suspended ; 
the booths are closed ; the Plebeians bear on their shoul- 
ders the two champions of liberty through the Forum. 
Just at this moment it is announced that a popular poet, 5 
a zealous adherent of the Tribunes, has made a new song 
which will cut the Claudian nobles to the heart. The 
crowd gathers round him and calls on him to recite it. 
He takes his stand on the spot where, according to tradi- 
tion, Virginia, more than seventy years ago, was seized 10 
by the pander of Appius, and he begins his story. 



VIRGINIA. 

FRAGMENTS OF A LAY SUNG IN THE FORUM ON THE DAY 
WHEREON LUCIUS SEXTIUS SEXTINUS LATERANUS AND 
CAIUS LICINIUS CALVUS STOLO WERE ELECTED TRI- 
BUNES OF THE COMMONS THE FIFTH TIME, IN THE 
YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLXXXII. 

Ye good men of the Commons, with loving hearts and 

true, 
Who stand by the bold Tribunes that still have stood by 

you, 
Come, make a circle round me, and mark my tale with 

care, — 
A tale of what Rome once hath borne, of what Rome yet 

may bear. 
This is no Grecian fable, of fountains running wine, 5 

Of maids with snaky tresses, or sailors turned to swine. 
Here, in this very Forum, under the noonday sun, 



96 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

In sight of all the people, the bloody deed was done. 
Old men still creep among us who saw that fearful day, 
Just seventy years and seven ago, when the wicked Ten 

bare sway. 10 

Of all the wicked Ten still the names are held accursed, 

And of all the wicked Ten Appius Claudius was the worst. 

He stalked along the Forum like King Tarquin in his 
pride ; 

Twelve axes waited on him, six marching on a side. 

The townsmen shrank to right and left, and eyed as- 
kance with fear i$ 

His lowering brow, his curling mouth, which always 
seemed to sneer. 

That brow of hate, that mouth of scorn, marks all the 
kindred still ; 

For never was there Claudius yet but wished the Com- 
mons ill. 

Nor lacks he fit attendance; for close behind his heels, 

With outstretched chin and crouching pace, the client 

Marcus steals, 20 

His loins girt up to run with speed, be the errand what 
it may, 

And the smile flickering on his cheek for aught his lord 
may say. 

Such varlets pimp and jest for hire among the lying 
Greeks ; 

Such varlets still are paid to hoot when brave Licinius 
speaks. 

Where'er ye shed the honey, the buzzing flies will crowd ; 25 

Where'er ye fling the carrion, the raven's croak is loud ; 

Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, the greedy pike ye 
see ; 

And wheresoe'er such lord is found, such client still will be. 



VIRGINIA. 97 

Just then, as through one cloudless chink in a black 

stormy sky 
Shines out the dewy morning-star, a fair young girl came 

by. 30 

With her small tablets in her hand and her satchel on her 

arm, 
Home she went bounding from the school, nor dreamed of 

shame or harm ; 
And past those dreaded axes she innocently ran, 
With bright, frank brow that had not learned to blush at 

gaze of man ; 
And up the Sacred Street she turned, and, as she danced 

along, 35 

She warbled gaily to herself lines of the good old song, 
How for a sport the princes came spurring from the camp, 
And found Lucrece combing the fleece under the midnight 

lamp. 
The maiden sang as sings the lark, when up he darts his 

flight 
From his nest in the green April corn to meet the morn- 
ing light ; 40 
And Appius heard her sweet young voice, and saw her 

sweet young face, 
And loved her with the accursed love of his accursed race, 
And all along the Forum and up the Sacred Street 
His vulture eye pursued the trip of those small glancing 

feet. 



Over the Alban mountains the light of morning broke ; 45 
From all the roofs of the Seven Hills curled the thin 

wreaths of smoke ; 
The city-gates were opened; the Forum, all alive 
With buyers and with sellers, was humming like a hive ; 



98 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Blithely on brass and timber the craftsman's stroke was 

ringing, 
And blithely o'er her panniers the market-girl was singing, 5° 
And blithely young Virginia came smiling from her home ; 
Ah ! woe for young Virginia, the sweetest maid in Rome ! 
With her small tablets in her hand and her satchel on her 

arm, 
Forth she went bounding to the school, nor dreamed of 

shame or harm. 
She crossed the Forum shining with stalls in alleys gay, 55 
And just had reached the very spot whereon I stand this 

day, 
When up the varlet Marcus came ; not such as when ere- 

while 
He crouched behind his patron's heels with the true 

client smile ; 
He came with lowering forehead, swollen features, and 

clenched fist, 
And strode across Virginia's path, and caught her by the 

wrist. 6° 

Hard strove the frighted maiden and screamed with look 

aghast, 
And at her scream from right and left the folk came run- 
ning fast, — 
The money-changer Crispus, with his thin silver hairs, 
And Hanno from the stately booth glittering with Punic 

wares, 
And the strong smith Muraena, grasping a half-forged 

brand, 6 5 

And Volero the flesher, his cleaver in his hand. 
All came in wrath and wonder, for all knew that fair child, 
And, as she passed them twice a day, all kissed their hands 

and smiled ; 
And the strong smith Muraena gave Marcus such a blow, 



VIRGINIA. 99 

The caitiff reeled three paces back, and let the maiden go. 70 
Yet glared he fiercely round him, and growled in harsh, 

fell tone, 
" She 's mine, and I will have her ; I seek but for mine own. 
She is my slave, born in my house, and stolen away and 

sold, 
The year of the sore sickness, ere she was twelve hours old. 
'Twas in the sad September, the month of wail and fright; 75 
Two augurs were borne forth that morn, the Consul died 

ere night. 
I wait on Appius Claudius, I waited on his sire ; 
Let him who works the client wrong beware the patron's 



So spake the varlet Marcus ; and dread and silence came 
On all the people at the sound of the great Claudian name. 80 
For then there was no Tribune to speak the word of might, 
Which makes the rich man tremble, and guards the poor 

man's right. 
There was no brave Licinius, no honest Sextius then ; 
But all the city in great fear obeyed the wicked Ten. 
Yet ere the varlet Marcus again might seize the maid, 85 
Who clung tight to Muraena's skirt and sobbed and 

shrieked for aid, 
Forth through the throng of gazers the young Icilius 

pressed, 
And stamped his foot, and rent his gown, and smote upon 

his breast, 
And sprang upon that column, by many a minstrel sung, 
Whereon three mouldering helmets, three rusting swords, 

are hung, 9° 

And beckoned to the people, and in bold voice and clear 
Poured thick and fast the burning words which tyrants 

quake to hear : 



100 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

" Now, by your children's cradles, now by your fathers' 
graves, 
Be men to-day, Quirites, or be forever slaves ! 
For this did Servius give us laws ? For this did Lucrece 

bleed ? 95 

For this was the great vengeance wrought on Tarquin's 

evil seed ? 
For this did those false sons make red the axes of their sire ? 
For this did Scaevola's right hand hiss in the Tuscan fire ? 
Shall the vile fox-earth awe the race that stormed the 

lion's den ? 
Shall we, who could not brook one lord, crouch to the 

wicked Ten? I0 ° 

O for that ancient spirit which curbed the Senate's will ! 
O for the tents which in old time whitened the Sacred Hill ! 
In those brave days our fathers stood firmly side by side ; 
They faced the Marcian fury, they tamed the Fabian pride ; 
They drove the fiercest Quinctius an outcast forth from 

Rome; I0 5 

They sent the haughtiest Claudius with shivered fasces 

home. 
But what their care bequeathed us our madness flung away ; 
All the ripe fruit of threescore years was blighted in a day. 
Exult, ye proud Patricians ! The hard-fought fight is o'er. 
We strove for honors — 't was in vain ; for freedom — 

'tis no more. no 

No crier to the polling summons the eager throng ; 
No Tribune breathes the word of might that guards the 

weak from wrong. 
Our very hearts, that were so high, sink down beneath your 

will. 
Riches and lands, and power and state — ye have them ; 

keep them still. 
Still keep the holy fillets ; still keep the purple gown, 115 



VIRGINIA. 101 

The axes and the curule chair, the car and laurel crown ; 
Still press us for your cohorts, and, when the fight is done, 
Still fill your garners from the soil which our good swords 

have won. 
Still, like a spreading ulcer which leech-craft may not cure, 
Let your foul usance eat away the substance of the poor. 120 
Still let your haggard debtors bear all their fathers bore ; 
Still let your dens of torment be noisome .as of yore ; 
No fire when Tiber freezes, no air in dog-star heat ; 
And store of rods for free-born backs, and holes for free- 
born feet. 
Heap heavier still the fetters, bar closer still the grate ; 125 
Patient as sheep we yield us up unto your cruel hate. 
But, by the Shades beneath us, and by the Gods above, 
Add not unto your cruel hate your yet more cruel love ! 
Have ye not graceful ladies, whose spotless lineage springs 
From Consuls and High Pontiffs and ancient Alban 

kings — 13° 

Ladies who deign not on our paths to set their tender feet, 
Who from their cars look down with scorn upon the won- 
dering street, 
Who in Corinthian mirrors their own proud smiles behold, 
And breathe of Capuan odors, and shine with Spanish 

gold? 
Then leave the poor Plebeian his single tie to life — *35 
The sweet, sweet love of daughter, of sister, and of wife, 
The gentle speech, the balm for all that his vexed soul 

endures, 
The kiss, in which he half forgets even such a yoke as 

yours. 
Still let the maiden's beauty swell the father's breast with 

pride ; 
Still let the bridegroom's arms infold an unpolluted bride. 140 
Spare us the inexpiable wrong, the unutterable shame, 



102 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

That turns the coward's heart to steel, the sluggard's blood 

to flame, 
Lest, when our latest hope is fled, ye taste of our despair, 
And learn by proof in some wild hour how much the 

wretched dare." 

Straightway Virginius led the maid a little space aside, 145 
To where the reeking shambles stood, piled up with horn 

and hide, 
Close to yon low dark archway, where in a crimson flood 
Leaps down to the great sewer the gurgling stream of 

blood. 
Hard by, a flesher on a block had laid his whittle down ; 
Virginius caught the whittle up and hid it in his gown. 150 
And then his eyes grew very dim, and his throat began to 

swell, 
And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake, " Farewell, sweet 

child ! Farewell ! 
O, how I loved my darling ! Though stern I sometimes be, 
To thee thou know'st I was not so. Who could be so to 

thee ? 
And how my darling loved me ! How glad she was to hear 155 
My footstep on the threshold when I came back last year ! 
And how she danced with pleasure to see my civic crown, 
And took my sword and hung it up, and brought me forth 

my gown ! 
Now, all those things are over — yes, all thy pretty ways, 
Thy needlework, thy prattle, thy snatches of old lays ; 160 
And none will grieve when I go forth, or smile when I 

return, 
Or watch beside the old man's bed, or weep upon his urn. 
The house that was the happiest within the Roman walls, 



VIRGINIA. 103 

The house that envied not the wealth of Capua's marble 

halls, 
Now, for the brightness of thy smile, must have eternal 

gloom, 165 

And for the music of thy voice, the silence of the tomb. 
The time is come. See how he points his eager hand this 

way ! 
See how his eyes gloat on thy grief like a kite's upon the 

prey ! 
With all his wit, he little deems that, spurned, betrayed, 

bereft, 
Thy father hath in his despair one fearful refuge left. 170 
He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still can save 
Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion of the 

slave ; 
Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and blow — 
Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou shalt 

never know. 
Then clasp me round the neck once more, and give me 

one more kiss ; 175 

And now, mine own dear little girl, there is no way but 

this." 
With that he lifted high the steel and smote her in the side, 
And in her blood she sank to earth, and with one sob she 

died. 

Then, for a little moment, all people held their breath, 
And through the crowded Forum was stillness as of death; 180 
And in another moment brake forth from one and all 
A cry as if the Volscians were coming o'er the wall. 
Some with averted faces shrieking fled home amain; 
Some ran to call a leech, and some ran to lift the slain; 
Some felt her lips and little wrist, if life might there be 

found ; 185 



104 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And some tore up their garments fast, and strove to 

stanch the wound. 
In vain they ran and felt and stanched ; for never truer 

blow 
That good right arm had dealt in fight against a Volscian 

foe. 

When Appius Claudius saw that deed, he shuddered 

and sank down, 
And hid his face some little space with the corner of his 

gown, 19° 

Till with white lips and bloodshot eyes Virginius tottered 

nigh, 
And stood before the judgment-seat, and held the knife 

on high. 
" O dwellers in the nether gloom, avengers of the slain, 
By this dear blood I cry to you, do right between us 

twain ; 
And even as Appius Claudius hath dealt by me and mine, 195 
Deal you by Appius Claudius and all the Claudian line ! " 
So spake the slayer of his child, and turned and went 

his way; 
But first he cast one haggard glance to where the body 

lay, 
And writhed, and groaned a fearful groan, and then with 

steadfast feet 
Strode right across the market-place unto the Sacred 

Street. 200 

Then up sprang Appius Claudius : " Stop him, alive or 

dead ! 
Ten thousand pounds of copper to the man who brings 

his head." 
He looked upon his clients, but none would work his will ; 



VIRGINIA. 105 

He looked upon his lictors, but they trembled and stood 

still. 
And, as Virginius through the press his way in silence 

cleft, 205 

Ever the mighty multitude fell back to right and left. 
And he hath passed in safety unto his woful home, 
And there ta'en horse to tell the camp what deeds are 

done in Rome. 

By this the flood of people was swollen from every side, 
And streets and porches round were filled with that o'er- 

flowing tide ; 210 

And close around the body gathered a little train 
Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the slain. 
They brought a bier, and hung it with many a cypress 

crown, 
And gently they uplifted her, and gently laid her down. 
The face of Appius Claudius wore the Claudian scowl 

and sneer, 215 

And in the Claudian note he cried, " What doth this 

rabble here ? 
Have they no crafts to mind at home, that hitherward 

they stray ? 
Ho ! lictors, clear the market-place, and fetch the corpse 

away ! " 
The voice of grief and fury till then had not been loud ; 
But a deep sullen murmur wandered among the crowd, 220 
Like the moaning noise that goes before the whirlwind on 

the deep, 
Or the growl of a fierce watch-dog but half aroused from 

sleep. 
But when the lictors at that word, tall yeomen all and strong, 
Each with his axe and sheaf of twigs, went down into the 

throng, 



106 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Those old men say who saw that day of sorrow and of 

sin 225 

That in the Roman Forum was never such a din! 
The wailing, hooting, cursing, the howls of grief and hate, 
Were heard beyond the Pincian Hill, beyond the Latin 

Gate. 
But close around the body, where stood the little train 
Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the slain, 230 
No cries were there, but teeth set fast, low whispers and 

black frowns, 
And breaking up of benches and girding up of gowns. 
'Twas well the lictors might not pierce to where the 

maiden lay, 
Else surely had they been all twelve torn limb from limb 

that day. 
Right glad they were to struggle back, blood streaming 

from their heads, 235 

With axes all in splinters and raiment all in shreds. 
Then Appius Claudius gnawed his lip, and the blood left 

his cheek, 
And thrice he beckoned with his hand, and thrice he strove 

to speak; 
And thrice the tossing Forum set up a frightful yell : 
" See, see, thou dog ! what thou hast done, and hide thy 

shame in hell ! 2 4° 

Thou that wouldst make our maidens slaves must first 

make slaves of men. 
Tribunes ! Hurrah for Tribunes ! Down with the wicked 

Ten ! " 
And straightway, thick as hailstones, came whizzing 

through the air 
Pebbles and bricks and potsherds all round the curule 

chair ; 
And upon Appius Claudius great fear and trembling came, 245 



VIRGINIA. 107 

For never was a Claudius yet brave against aught but 

shame. 
Though the great houses love us not, we own, to do them 

right, 
That the great houses, all save one, have borne them well 

in fight. 
Still Caius of Corioli, his triumphs and his wrongs, 
His vengeance and his mercy, live in our camp-fire songs. 250 
Beneath the yoke of Furius oft have Gaul and Tuscan 

bowed ; 
And Rome may bear the pride of him of whom herself is 

proud. 
But evermore a Claudius shrinks from a stricken field, 
And changes color like a maid at sight of sword and 

shield. 
The Claudian triumphs all were won within the city 

towers ; 2 55 

The Claudian yoke was never pressed on any necks but 

ours. 
A Cossus, like a wild cat, springs ever at the face ; 
A Fabius rushes like a boar against the shouting chase ; 
But the vile Claudian litter, raging with currish spite, 
Still yelps and snaps at those who run, still runs from 

those who smite. 260 

So now 't was seen of Appius ; when stones began to fly, 
He shook and crouched, and wrung his hands, and smote 

upon his thigh : 
" Kind clients, honest lictors, stand by me in this fray ! 
Must I be torn in pieces ? Home, home, the nearest 

way ! " 
While yet he spake, and looked around with a bewildered 

stare, 265 

Four sturdy lictors put their necks beneath the curule 

chair ; 



108 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And fourscore clients on the left and fourscore on the right 
Arrayed themselves with swords and staves, and loins girt 

up for fight. 
But, though without or staff or sword, so furious was the 

throng 
That scarce the train with might and main could bring 

their lord along. 270 

Twelve times the crowd made at him, five times they 

seized his gown ; 
Small chance was his to rise again, if once they got him 

down; 
And sharper came the pelting, and evermore the yell — 
"Tribunes ! we will have Tribunes!" — rose with a louder 

swell ; 
And the chair tossed as tosses a bark with tattered sail 275 
When raves the Adriatic beneath an eastern gale, 
When the Calabrian sea-marks are lost in clouds of spume, 
And the great Thunder-Cape has donned his veil of inky 

gloom. 
One stone hit Appius in the mouth, and one beneath the 

ear, 
And ere he reached Mount Palatine he swooned with 

pain and fear. 280 

His cursed head, that he was wont to hold so high with 

pride, 
Now, like a drunken man's, hung down and swayed from 

side to side ; 
And when his stout retainers had brought him to his door, 
His face and neck were all one cake of filth and clotted 

gore. 
As Appius Claudius was that day, so may his grandson be ! 
God send Rome one such other sight, and send me there 

to see ! 286 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 



It can hardly be necessary to remind any reader that, 
according to the popular tradition, Romulus, after he had 
slain his grand-uncle Amulius, and restored his grand- 
father Numitor, determined to quit Alba, the hereditary 
domain of the Sylvian princes, and to found a new city. 5 
The Gods, it was added, vouchsafed the clearest signs of 
the favor with which they regarded the enterprise, and 
of the high destinies reserved for the young colony. 

This event was likely to be a favorite theme of the old 
Latin minstrels. They would naturally attribute the proj- 10 
ect of Romulus to some divine intimation of the power 
and prosperity which it was decreed that his city should 
attain. They would probably introduce seers foretelling 
the victories of unborn Consuls and Dictators, and the last 
great victory would generally occupy the most conspicu- 15 
ous place in the prediction. There is nothing strange in 
the supposition that the poet who was employed to cele- 
brate the first great triumph of the Romans over the 
Greeks might throw his song of exultation into this form. 

The occasion was one likely to excite the strongest 20 
feelings of national pride. A great outrage had been 
followed by a great retribution. Seven years before this 
time, Lucius Posthumius Megellus, who sprang from one 
of the noblest houses of Rome, and had been thrice Con- 
sul, was sent ambassador to Tarentum, with charge to 25 
demand reparation for grievous injuries. The Tarentines 
gave him audience in their theatre, where he addressed 

109 



110 LAYS OF ANCLE NT ROME. 

them in such Greek as he could command, which, we may 
well believe, was not exactly such as Cineas would have 
spoken. An exquisite sense of the ridiculous belonged 
to the Greek character; and closely connected with this 
5 faculty was a strong propensity to flippancy and imperti- 
nence. When Posthumius placed an accent wrong, his 
hearers burst into a laugh. When he remonstrated, they 
hooted him and called him barbarian, and at length hissed 
him off the stage as if he had been a bad actor. As the 

10 grave Roman retired, a buffoon, who from his constant 
drunkenness was nicknamed the Pint-pot, came up with 
gestures of the grossest indecency, and bespattered the 
senatorial gown with filth. Posthumius turned round to 
the multitude, and held up the gown, as if appealing to 

15 the universal law of nations. The sight only increased the 
insolence of the Tarentines. They clapped their hands, 
and set up a shout of laughter which shook the theatre. 
" Men of Tarentum," said Posthumius, " it will take not a 
little blood to wash this gown." l 

20 Rome, in consequence of this insult, declared war 
against the Tarentines. The Tarentines sought for allies 
beyond the Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, came to 
their help with a large army ; and, for the first time, the 
two great nations of antiquity were fairly matched against 

25 each other. 

The fame of Greece in arms as well as in arts was then 
at the height. Half a century earlier, the career of 
Alexander had excited the admiration and terror of all 
nations from the Ganges to the Pillars of Hercules. 

30 Royal houses, founded by Macedonian captains, still 

reigned at Antioch and Alexandria. That barbarian 

warriors, led by barbarian chiefs, should win a pitched 

battle against Greek valor guided by Greek science, 

1 Dion. Hal. De Legation! bus. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. Ill 

seemed as incredible as it would now seem that the Bur- 
mese or the Siamese should, in the open plain, put to 
flight an equal number of the best English troops. The 
Tarentines were convinced that their countrymen were 
irresistible in war ; and this conviction had emboldened 5 
them to treat with the grossest indignity one whom they 
regarded as the representative of an inferior race. Of 
the Greek generals then living, Pyrrhus was indisputably 
the first. Among the troops who were trained in the 
Greek discipline his Epirotes ranked high. His expedi- 10 
tion to Italy was a turning-point in the history of the 
world. He found there a people who, far inferior to the 
Athenians and Corinthians in the fine arts, in the specu- 
lative sciences, and in all the refinements of life, were 
the best soldiers on the face of the earth. Their arms, 15 
their gradations of rank, their order of battle, their 
method of intrenchment, were all of Latian origin, and 
had all been gradually brought near to perfection, not by 
the study of foreign models, but by the genius and expe- 
rience of many generations of great native commanders. 20 
The first words which broke from the king, when his 
practised eye had surveyed the Roman encampment, were 
full of meaning: "These barbarians," he said, "have 
nothing barbarous in their military arrangements." He 
was at first victorious ; for his own talents were superior 25 
to those of the captains who were opposed to him ; and 
the Romans were not prepared for the onset of the ele- 
phants of the East, which were then for the first time 
seen in Italy — moving mountains, with long snakes for 
hands. 1 But the victories of the Epirotes were fiercely 30 
disputed, dearly purchased, and altogether unprofitable. 
At length Manius Curius Dentatus, who had in his first 

1 Angnimanus is the old Latin epithet for an elephant. Lucre- 
tius, ii. 538, v. 1302. 



112 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Consulship won two triumphs, was again placed at the 
head of the Roman Commonwealth, and sent to encounter 
the invaders. A great battle was fought near Beneventum. 
Pyrrhus was completely defeated. He repassed the sea ; 
5 and the world learned with amazement that a people had 
been discovered who, in fair fighting, were superior to 
the best troops that had been drilled on the system of 
Parmenio and Antigonus. 

The conquerors had a good right to exult in their suc- 

10 cess ; for their glory was all their own. They had not 
learned from their enemy how to conquer him. It was 
with their own national arms, and in their own national 
battle-array, that they had overcome weapons and tactics 
long believed to be invincible. The pilum and the broad- 

15 sword had vanquished the Macedonian spear. The 
legion had broken the Macedonian phalanx. Even the 
elephants, when the surprise produced by their first 
appearance was over, could cause no disorder in the 
steady yet flexible battalions of Rome. 

20 It is said by Florus, and may easily be believed, that 
the triumph far surpassed in magnificence any that Rome 
had previously seen. The only spoils which Papirius 
Cursor and Fabius Maximus could exhibit were flocks 
and herds, wagons of rude structure, and heaps of spears 

25 and helmets. But now, for the first time, the riches of 
Asia and the arts of Greece adorned a Roman pageant. 
Plate, fine stuffs, costly furniture, rare animals, exquisite 
paintings and sculptures, formed part of the procession. 
At the banquet would be assembled a crowd of warriors 

30 and statesmen, among whom Manius Curius Dentatus 
would take the highest room. Caius Fabricius Luscinus, 
then, after two Consulships and two triumphs, Censor 
of the Commonwealth, would doubtless occupy a place 
of honor at the board. In situations less conspicuous 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 113 

probably lay some of those who were, a few years later, 
the terror of Carthage, — Caius Duilius, the founder of the 
maritime greatness of his country ; Marcus Atilius Regu- 
lus, who owed to defeat a renown far higher than that 
which he had derived from his victories.; and Caius Luta- 5 
tius Catulus, who, while suffering from a grievous wound, 
fought the great battle of the iEgates, and brought the 
First Punic War to a triumphant close. It is impossible 
to recount the names of these eminent citizens without 
reflecting that they were all, without exception, Plebeians, 10 
and would, but for the ever-memorable struggle main- 
tained by Caius Licinius and Lucius Sextius, have been 
doomed to hide in obscurity, or to waste in civil broils 
the capacity and energy which prevailed against Pyrrhus 
and Hamilcar. 15 

On such a day we may suppose that the patriotic en- 
thusiasm of a Latin poet would vent itself in reiterated 
shouts of Io triumphe, such as were uttered by Horace on 
a far less exciting occasion, and in boasts resembling 
those which Virgil put into the mouth of Anchises. The 20 
superiority of some foreign nations, and especially of the 
Greeks, in the lazy arts of peace would be admitted with 
disdainful candor ; but pre-eminence in all the qualities 
which fit a people to subdue and govern mankind would 
be claimed for the Romans. 25 

The following lay belongs to the latest age of Latin 
ballad-poetry. Naevius and Livius Andronicus were 
probably among the children whose mothers held them 
up to see the chariot of Curius go by. The minstrel who 
sang on that day might possibly have lived to read the 30 
first hexameters of Ennius, and to see the first comedies 
of Plautus. His poem, as might be expected, shows a 
much wider acquaintance with the geography, manners, 
and productions of remote nations than would have been 



114 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

found in compositions of the age of Camillus. But he 
troubles himself little about dates, and having heard trav- 
ellers talk with admiration of the Colossus of Rhodes, 
and of the structures and gardens with which the Mace- 
donian kings of Syria had embellished their residence on 
the banks of the Orontes, he has never thought of inquir- 
ing whether these things existed in the age of Romulus. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 

A LAY SUNG AT THE BANQUET IN THE CAPITOL, ON THE DAY 
WHEREON MANIUS CURIUS DENTATUS, A SECOND TIME 
CONSUL, TRIUMPHED OVER KING PYRRHUS AND THE 
TARENTINES, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLXXIX. 



Now slain is King Amulius 

Of the great Sylvian line, 
Who reigned in Alba Longa 

On the throne of Aventine. 
Slain is the Pontiff Camers, 

Who spake the words of doom 
" The children to the Tiber, 

The mother to the tomb."' 



ii. 

In Alba's lake no fisher 
His net to-day is flinging ; 

On the dark rind of Alba's oaks 
To-day no axe is ringing ; 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 115 

The yoke hangs o'er the manger, 

The scythe lies in the hay ; 
Through all the Alban villages *5 

No work is done to-day. 

in. 

And every Alban burgher 

Hath donned his whitest gown ; 
And every head in Alba 

Weareth a poplar crown ; 20 

And every Alban door-post 

With boughs and flowers is gay ; 
For to-day the dead are living, 

The lost are found to-day. 

IV. 

They were doomed by a bloody king, 25 

They were doomed by a lying priest ; 
They were cast on the raging flood, 

They were tracked by the raging beast. 
Raging beast and raging flood 

Alike have spared the prey ; 3° 

And to-day the dead are living, 

The lost are found to-day. 

v. 
The troubled river knew them, 

And smoothed his yellow foam, 
And gently rocked the cradle 35 

That bore the fate of Rome. 
The ravening she-wolf knew them, 

And licked them o'er and o'er, 
And gave them of her own fierce milk, 

Rich with raw flesh and gore. 4° 



116 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

Twenty winters, twenty springs, 

Since then have rolled away ; 
And to-day the dead are living, 

The lost are found to-day. 

VI. 

Blithe it was to see the twins, 45 

Right goodly youths and tall, 
Marching from Alba Longa 

To their old grandsire's hall. 
Along their path fresh garlands 

Are hung from tree to tree ; 5° 

Before them stride the pipers, 

Piping a note of glee. 

VII. 

On the right goes Romulus, 

With arms to the elbows red, 
And in his hand a broadsword, 55 

And on the blade a head — 
A head in an iron helmet, 

With horse-hair hanging down, 
A shaggy head, a swarthy head, 

Fixed in a ghastly frown — 6o 

The head of King Amulius 

Of the great Sylvian line, 
Who reigned in Alba Longa 

On the throne of Aventine. 

VIII. 

On the left side goes Remus, 65 

With wrists and fingers red, 
And in his hand a boar-spear, 

And on the point a head — 



THE PROPHECY OE CAP VS. 117 

A wrinkled head and aged, 

With silver beard and hair, 7° 

And holy fillets round it 

Such as the pontiffs wear — 
The head of ancient Camers, 

Who spake the words of doom : 
"The children to the Tiber, 75 

The mother to the tomb." 

IX. 

Two and two behind the twins 

Their trusty comrades go, 
Four and forty valiant men, 

With club and axe and bow. 8o 

On each side every hamlet 

Pours forth its joyous crowd, 
Shouting lads and baying dogs 

And children laughing loud, 
And old men weeping fondly 85 

As Rhea's boys go by, 
And maids who shriek to see the heads, 

Yet, shrieking, press more nigh. 



So they marched along the lake ; 

They marched by fold and stall, 9° 

By corn-field and by vineyard, 

Unto the old man's hall. 

XI. 

In the hall-gate sat Capys, 

Capys, the sightless seer ; 
From head to foot he trembled 95 

As Romulus drew near. 



118 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And up stood stiff his thin white hair, 

And his blind eyes flashed fire : 
" Hail ! foster child of the wondrous nurse ! 

Hail ! son of the wondrous sire ! ioo 

XII. 

" But thou — what dost thou here 

In the old man's peaceful hall ? 
What doth the eagle in the coop, 

The bison in the stall ? 
Our corn fills many a garner, 105 

Our vines clasp many a tree, 
Our flocks are white on many a hill, 

But these are not for thee. 

XIII. 

" For thee no treasure ripens 

In the Tartessian mine; no 

For thee no ship brings precious bales 

Across the Libyan brine ; 
Thou shalt not drink from amber, 

Thou shalt not rest on down ; 
Arabia shall not steep thy locks, 115 

Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. 

XIV. 

" Leave gold and myrrh and jewels, 

Rich table and soft bed, 
To them who of man's seed are born, 

Whom woman's milk hath fed. I2 ° 

Thou wast not made for lucre, 

For pleasure, nor for rest ; 
Thou, that art sprung from the War-god's loins, 

And hast tugged at the she-wolf's breast. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 119 

XV. 

"From sunrise unto sunset 125 

All earth shall hear thy fame ; 
A glorious city thou shalt build, 

And name it by thy name ; 
And there, unquenched through ages, 

Like Vesta's sacred fire, 13° 

Shall live the spirit of thy nurse, 

The spirit of thy sire. 

XVI. 

" The ox toils through the furrow, 

Obedient to the goad ; 
The patient ass up flinty paths 135 

Plods with his weary load ; 
With whine and bound the spaniel 

His master's whistle hears ; 
And the sheep yields her patiently 

To the loud clashing shears. 140 

XVII. 

" But thy nurse will hear no master, 

Thy nurse will bear no load ; 
And woe to them that shear her, 

And woe to them that goad ! 
When all the pack, loud baying, 145 

Her bloody lair surrounds, 
She dies in silence, biting hard, 

Amidst the dying hounds. 

XVIII. 

" Pomona loves the orchard, 

And Liber loves the vine, 15° 



120 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And Pales loves the straw-built shed 

Warm with the breath of kine ; 
And Venus loves the whispers 

Of plighted youth and maid, 
In April's ivory moonlight I 55 

Beneath the chestnut shade. 

XIX. 

" But thy father loves the clashing 

Of broadsword and of shield ; 
He loves to drink the steam that reeks 

From the fresh battlefield ; 160 

He smiles a smile more dreadful 

Than his own dreadful frown, 
When he sees the thick black cloud of smoke 

Go up from the conquered town. 

xx. 

" And such as is the War-god, 165 

The author of thy line, 
And such as she who suckled thee, 

Even such be thou and thine. 
Leave to the soft Campanian 

His baths and his perfumes ; T 7° 

Leave to the sordid race of Tyre 

Their dyeing-vats and looms; 
Leave to the sons of Carthage 

The rudder and the oar; 
Leave to the Greek his marble Nymphs J 75 

And scrolls of wordy lore. 

XXI. 

"Thine, Roman, is the pilum; 
Roman, the sword is thine, 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 121 

The even trench, the bristling mound, 

The legion's ordered line; 180 

And thine the wheels of triumph, 

Which with their laurelled train 
Move slowly up the shouting streets 

To Jove's eternal fane. 

XXII. 

" Beneath thy yoke the Volscian 185 

Shall vail his lofty brow; 
Soft Capua's curled revellers 

Before thy chairs shall bow ; 
The Lucumoes of Arnus 

Shall quake thy rods to see ; 19° 

And the proud Samnite's heart of steel 

Shall yield to only thee. 

XXIII. 

" The Gaul shall come against thee 

From the land of snow and night ; 
Thou shalt give his fair-haired armies T 95 

To the raven and the kite. 

XXIV. 

" The Greek shall come against thee, 

The conqueror of the East. 
Beside him stalks to battle 

The huge earth-shaking beast — 2 °o 

The beast on whom the castle 

With all its guards doth stand, 
The beast who hath between his eyes 

The serpent for a hand. 
First march the bold Epirotes, 205 

Wedged close with shield and spear, 



122 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

And the ranks of false Tarentum 
Are glittering in the rear. 

xxv. 

" The ranks of false Tarentum 

Like hunted sheep shall fly; 210 

In vain the bold Epirotes 

Shall round their standards die ; 
And Apennine's gray vultures 

Shall have a noble feast 
On the fat and the eyes 215 

Of the huge earth-shaking beast. 



XXVI. 

" Hurrah for the good weapons 

That keep the War-god's land ! 
Hurrah for Rome's stout pilum 

In a stout Roman hand ! 220 

Hurrah for Rome's short broadsword, 

That through the thick array 
Of levelled spears and serried shields 

Hews deep its gory way ! 

XXVII. 

" Hurrah for the great triumph 225 

That stretches many a mile ! 
Hurrah for the wan captives 

That pass in endless file ! 
Ho ! bold Epirotes, whither 

Hath the Red King ta'en flight ? 230 

Ho ! dogs of false Tarentum, 

Is not the gown washed white ? 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 123 



XXVIII. 

" Hurrah for the great triumph 

That stretches many a mile ! 
Hurrah for the rich dye of Tyre, 235 

And the fine web of Nile, 
The helmets gay with plumage 

Torn from the pheasant's wings, 
The belts set thick with starry gems 

That shone on Indian kings, 240 

The urns of massy silver, 

The goblets rough with gold, 
The many-colored tablets bright 

With loves and wars of old, 
The stone that breathes and struggles, 245 

The brass that seems to speak ! — 
Such cunning they who dwell on high 

Have given unto the Greek. 

XXIX. 

" Hurrah for Manius Curius, 

The bravest son of Rome, 250 

Thrice in utmost need sent forth, 

Thrice drawn in triumph home ! 
Weave, weave, for Manius Curius 

The third embroidered gown; 
Make ready the third lofty car, 255 

And twine the third green crown ; 
And yoke the steeds of Rosea 

With necks like a bended bow, 
And deck the bull, Mevania's bull, 

The bull as white as snow. 260 



124 LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME. 

XXX. 

" Blest and thrice blest the Roman 

Who sees Rome's brightest day, 
Who sees that long victorious pomp 

Wind down the Sacred Way, 
And through the bellowing Forum, 265 

And round the Suppliant's Grove, 
Up to the everlasting gates 

Of Capitolian Jove. 

XXXI. 

" Then where o'er two bright havens 

The towers of Corinth frown ; 270 

Where the gigantic King of Day 

On his own Rhodes looks down ; 
Where soft Orontes murmurs 

Beneath the laurel shades ; 
Where Nile reflects the endless length 275 

Of dark-red colonnades ; 
Where in the still deep water, 

Sheltered from waves and blasts, 
Bristles the dusky forest 

Of Byrsa's thousand masts; 280 

W T here fur-clad hunters wander 

Amidst the northern ice ; 
Where through the sand of morning-land 

The camel bears the spice ; 
Where Atlas flings his shadow 285 

Far o'er the western foam, 
Shall be great fear on all who hear 

The mighty name of Rome." 




The Bronze Wolf of the Cai 



NOTES. 



N.B. Cf . = compare. 
Vir 



Hor. — Horatius. B.L.R. = The Battle of the Lake Regillus. 
— Virginia. P. C. = The Prophecy of Capys. 



HORATIUS. 

The year of the city CCCLX : b.c. 394. 

1. Lars: an honorary title among the Etruscans, like English 
' Lord.' — Clusium : one of the most important of the twelve cities of 
the Etruscan Confederation. 

2. Nine Gods : the nine Great Gods, so called, of the Etruscans, 
who alone had the power of hurling the thunderbolt. 

3. house of Tarquin: read in a History of Rome an account of 
the Tarquins and of the expulsion of the family from Rome. 

4. suffer wrong : remain in exile, — which was a grievous wrong in 
the eyes of the Tarquins and their friends. 

14. Etruscan (or Tuscan) : the adjective (here used as a noun) 
applied to the inhabitants of Etruria (or Tuscia). See map. 

19. amain: without cessation. Cf. Shakespeare, 3 Henry VI, 
II. 1, "to London will we march amain." Other meanings of this word 
will occur. 

25. Apennine : the Romans used the singular; we use the plural. 

125 



126 NOTES. 

34. Pisae : on the site of the modern Pisa, near the mouth of the 
Arnus. 

36. Massilia : modern Marseilles, early settled by Greeks, and 
always an important commercial city. — triremes : war-ships with three 
banks of oars. 

37. fair-haired slaves : referring to Gauls who had been captured 
for sale in the Roman market. The Gauls are frequently spoken of as 
having light-colored hair, in marked contrast with the black hair of the 
southern nations. Cf. P. C. 193—195. 

41. diadem of towers: Cortona was built on a very high hill. 

45. Ciminian hill : near Lake Ciminus. 

47. to the herdsman dear : because its waters were drunk by the 
"milk-white steers" (cf. 1. 55 and P. C. 259, 260), a famous breed of 
oxen much in demand as victims for sacrifice on great occasions. 

49. mere : this word is now rarely used except in poetry. It sur- 
vives in the names of some English lakes, like Windemere. 

58-65. old men . . . boys . . . girls: of course, because the young 
men were in the army. 

61. plunge the struggling sheep: sheep are "plunged" to wash 
the wool before shearing. 

62. vats of Luna, etc.: in allusion to the custom of "treading" 
the grapes. 

63. must : the grape juice before fermenting. 

66. thirty chosen prophets : augurs, who interpreted the will of the 
gods. Cf. note on 1. 388. 

71. verses : prophecies preserved in verse. 

72. traced from the right: i.e. written from right to left, like 
Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic. 

80. Nurscia's altars: Nurtia, or Nortia, was a' goddess of the Vol- 
scinians, probably the same as the Roman Fortuna. 

81. golden shields: the twelve golden shields of Rome. In the 
reign of Numa a golden shield (of Mars) was said to have fallen from 
heaven, "and on its continued preservation the continued prosperity of 
Rome was declared to depend." To prevent this from being stolen, 
eleven others were made exactly like it, so that no one might know 
which was the true one, and twelve priests were appointed to take 
charge of them. Cf. B. L. K. 624. 

96. Tusculan : from Tusculum, a town of Latium. — Mamilius : 
son-in-law of Tarquin the Proud. 

98. yellow : a very common epithet of the Tiber, probably from the 
color of its sands. 



HORA TIUS. Ul 

106. folk: most of the editions have " folks." Cf. "folk" in Vir. 
62. 

115. skins of wine: wine was transported from place to place in 
bottles made of leather. 

117. kine : old plural of 'cow,' now seldom used. 

122. rock Tarpeian : a precipitous cliff on the Capitoline, over- 
looking the Tiber, from which in later times traitors were hurled. 

126. Fathers: senators. The expression "City Fathers" is not 
uncommon now. 

132. Nor . . . nor . . . nor : neither . . . nor . . . nor. 

134. Verbenna : "The name is one of Macaulay's own invention; 
it is not mentioned by any Roman writer" [Rolfe]. — Ostia : the sea- 
port of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber. 

136. Astur : " another name of Macaulay's invention. There is a 
Latin word astur, meaning a hawk" [Rolfe]. — Janiculum: a high hill 
west of the Tiber, commanding the city; not one of the "seven hills." 

138. I wis : originally ywis, an adverb meaning 'certainly.' 

142. Consul : chief magistrate of Rome. There were two consuls ; 
see note on B. L. R. 82. 

144. gowns : the toga, called ' gown ' in the Lays, was the outer gar- 
ment of a Roman citizen. It was a loose, flowing garment and needed 
" girding up " when action was demanded of the wearer. 

146. standing: explained by 11. 148, 149. 

151. straight: for ' straightway.' 

156. Macaulay has been criticised for using " Sir." Does the word 
seem out of place here? 

177. twelve fair cities: i.e. of the Etruscan Confederation; see 
note on 1. 1. 

180. Umbrian : a people of eastern and central Italy. 

181. Gaul : here refers to the people of northern Italy, or Cisalpine 
Gaul. 

184. port and vest : carriage (or bearing) and dress. The word 
' vest,' now restricted in meaning, is here used as a general word for 
' clothing ' or ' dress.' 

185. Lucumo : the title of an Etruscan prince. 

188. fourfold: having four layers of hide or metal. 

189. brand : why should a sword be called (metaphorically) a 
brand ? 

192. Thrasymene : Lake Thrasymenus (better spelled Trasymenus). 

194. war: warlike array. 

199. false Sextus : Sextus Tarquinius, son of Tarquin the Proud. 



128 NOTES. 

200. deed of shame : the rape of Lucretia. 

217. Horatius : surnamed Codes (the one-eyed), was of patrician 
family, representing the Luceres, one of the original three tribes, the 
other two being the Ramnian (Ramnes) and the Titian (Tities). See 
the author's introduction, p. 29, 1. 26. 

229. holy maidens : the Vestal Virgins, whose chief duty it was to 
keep burning the sacred fire on the altar of Vesta. They were six in 
number, chosen from the highest families, and held in the highest 
esteem. 

237. strait : not ' straight ' ; cf. 1. 440. 

242. Ramnian . . . Titian : see note on 1. 217. 

253. For Romans ... in the brave days of old, etc.: men in all 
ages are wont to magnify the past at the expense of the present. 

262. spoils were fairly sold : after the capture of the city of Veii 
by the Romans under Camillus, large quantities of the booty were dis- 
tributed among the citizens. Later Camillus was accused of making 
an unfair distribution, and in consequence of the accusation went into 
exile. 

267. Tribunes : officers of the city, who had certain extraordinary 
powers. They were originally appointed to protect the interests of the 
plebeians, and were themselves plebeians. — beard the high ' cf. Scott's 
Marmion, 

" And dar'st thou then 
To beard the lion in his den, 
The Douglas in his hall ? " 

274. harness: armor, an old use of the word; cf. "At least we'll 
die with harness on our back," Shakespeare, Macbeth, V. 5. 
277. Commons : the common people, plebeians. 
304. Ilva : the modern Elba, still celebrated for its iron mines. 

309. Nequinum : afterwards Narnia. 

310. pale waves : the Nar was noted for its sulphurous waters and 
white color. 

314. clove : cf. cleft, Vir. 205. 

335. Ostia: see note on 1. 134. 

337. Campania : a seacoast country, southeast of Latium. — hinds : 
peasants, farm laborers ; the word has no connection with ' hind ' = 
' deer.' Jack Cade's army is described in Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI, 
IV. 4, as "a ragged multitude of hinds and peasants." 

354. brand: see note on 1. 189. 

355. none but he : what part of speech is ' but ' here ? 



HO RATI US. 129 

360. she-wolf's litter : refers to the suckling of Romulus and 
Remus by a she-wolf. Cf. P. C. 37-40. 

384. Mount Alvernus : a mountain in northern Etruria. 

388. augurs : official soothsayers, who had charge of the public 
auspices. The effects of lightning were carefully watched and inter- 
preted by the augurs. 

392. amain : with all his might. Cf. note on 1. 19. 

417. Was none: note the omission of the expletive 'there.' 

440. narrow way: cf. "strait path," 1. 237. 

446. tide : always note figurative uses of words. What would be 
the usual prose word for ' tide ' ? 

465. As to the highest turret-tops, etc. : how can such an extrava- 
gant statement be justified? 

470. tossed his tawny mane : explain the figure. 

483. grace : mercy. Cf. Shakespeare, Hamlet, I. 5, " So grace and 
mercy at your most need help you." 

488. Palatinus : the hill on which the patricians resided, where the 
original settlement was. When Macaulay was in Rome in 1838, he 
wrote in his journal : " I then went towards the river, to the spot where 
the old Pons Sublicius stood, and looked about to see how my Hora- 
tius agreed with the topography. Pretty well : but his house must be 
on Mount Palatinus ; for he would never see Mount Coelius from the 
spot where he fought." \_Life and Letters, vol. ii, p. 29.] 

492. father Tiber : i.e. the river-god. It should be remembered that 
the early Romans looked upon all objects and phenomena of nature as 
possessed each by its own invisible spirit or deity. 

525. Bare bravely up his chin : in a footnote to this line Macaulay 

quotes from Scott 

Our ladye bare upp her chinne. 

Ballad of Childe Waters. 
Never heavier man and horse 
Stemmed a midnight torrent's force ; 



Yet, through good heart and our Lady's grace, 
At length he gained the landing place. 

Lay of the Last Minstrel, I. 

542. corn-land ... of public right: lands belonging to the state 
consisted mainly of territory taken in war. The various agrarian laws 
that were passed from time to time were concerned with the disposition 
of the public lands. Cf. 1. 261. 

545. Could plough: i.e. 'could plough around.' 



130 NO TES. 

550. Comitium : an open space adjoining the forum, in which cer- 
tain assemblies were held. 

561. the Volscian : the Volscians were a tribe of Latium, among the 
most formidable of Rome's enemies in the early period of the republic. 
Coriolanus is the hero of the Volscian wars. 

562. Juno: the protectress of women and goddess of childbirth. 
Cf. Shakespeare, As You Like It, V. 4, "Wedding is great Juno's 
crown." 

572.* Algidus : a mountain of Latium, one of the Alban range. 

582, 584. goodman . . . goodwife : master and mistress of the 
house. In Carlyle's letters to his sister he often speaks of her husband 
as " your Goodman." 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 

The year of the city CCCCLI : b.c. 303. 

2. lictors : attendants upon the higher magistrates — the consul had 
twelve — who carried as symbols of power bundles of rods called fasces, 
to which axes were added. But the axe was not used inside the city 
after the downfall of the kings. Cf. Vir. 224. 

3. Knights : members of the equestrian order, wealthy citizens 
who, at this period of Roman history, served in the cavalry with a 
horse provided by the state. 

7. Castor : i.e. the temple of Castor and Pollux (the " Great Twin 
Brethren"), erected in commemoration of the events recorded in this 
Lay. — Forum: an open place between the Capitoline and Palatine 
hills, where business was transacted, meetings held, etc. 

8. Mars : i.e. the temple of Mars, the war-god. 

13. Yellow River: cf. Hor. 98, 466, 470. 

14. Sacred Hill : mons sacer, a hill three miles from the city, near 
the Anio, to which the plebeians had twice seceded when seeking 
redress of grievances. 

15. Ides of Quintilis : the fifteenth day of July. July was the fifth 
month, March being the first. The name July was given to it by Julius 
Caesar, when he reformed the calendar. 

17. Martian Kalends : the first day of March (the month of Mars), 
when was celebrated the festival called Matronalia in memory of the 
peace made by the Sabine women between the Romans and the Sabines 
in the time of Romulus. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 131 

18. December's Nones : the fifth of December, when were cele- 
brated the Faunalia, or feast of Faunus, the protecting deity of agricul- 
ture and of shepherds, also a giver of oracles. 

15-18. Kalends, Nones, Ides : the Romans reckoned the days of the 
month backwards from these three points, the Kalends being the first, 
the Nones the fifth, and the Ides the thirteenth, except that in March, 
May, July, and October the Nones came on the seventh and the Ides 
on the fifteenth. 

20. whitest : most propitious ; in allusion to the custom of mark- 
ing days of good omen in the calendar with white, as unlucky days 
were marked with black. Cf. 11. 156, 780. 

24. from the east : the home of the Twin Brethren may be 
regarded as Sparta, in southern Greece, where they first received divine 
honors. 

25. Parthenius : a mountain in southern Greece. 

27. Cirrha : a town in northern Greece. — Adria : the Adriatic sea. 

31. Lacedaemon : another name for Sparta. 

33. Lake Regillus : regarding the locality of this lake, see the 
author's introduction, p. 60, 1. 23. 

63. what time = the time when. — Thirty Cities: the Latin cities 
that took the part of the exiled Tarquins. 

78. Of mortal eyes were seen : for this use of ' of ' = ' by ' cf. " He 
was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve," 1 Cor. 15, 5; and "Touching 
this dreaded sight twice seen of us," Shakespeare, Hamlet, I. 1. 

82. Consul first in place: "When both consuls were in Rome, 
each was superior during alternate months." [Gow.] 

89. Latines : we now spell it ' Latins.' 

91. did his office: i.e. read the proclamation that follows. 

96. To bring the Tarquins home : it will be remembered that the 
whole family of the Tarquins was banished when Tarquin the Proud 
was dethroned. 

114. hied him: cf. Hor. 145. 

119. Conscript Fathers: the title by which the assembled senate 
was addressed. 

123. choose we : is this equivalent to ' we choose ' or to ' let us 
choose ' ? — Dictator : as here implied the dictator was an extraordinary 
officer, appointed in times of great danger. He had absolute power 
for the time being, superseding all other magistrates, but this power 
lasted for only six months, and generally was resigned as soon as the 
crisis was passed. The ' Master of the Knights,' or ' Master of Horse,' 
was his second in command. 



132 NOTES. 

125. Camerium : an ancient town of Latium taken by Tarquin. 

126. Aulus : cf. 1. S3. 

132. axes twenty-four : i.e. twenty-four lictors, the number that 
would be assigned to the two consuls ; see note on 1. 2. The axes in 
the fasces symbolized the power of life and death. 

143. With boys and with gray-headed men : cf. Hor. 58-65. 

145. hard by: cf. ''fast by," Hor. 193. 

169. Witch's Fortress : the Circeian promontory, said by the 
Roman poets to have been the abode of Circe, the enchantress. 

174. ghastly priest, etc. : near Aricia was a celebrated temple of 
Diana, who was worshipped with barbarous customs ; her priest was 
always a runaway slave, who obtained his office by killing his predeces- 
sor in single combat. 

179. buffaloes: these must not be thought of as resembling the 
buffaloes of North America. 

185. Laurentian : about Laurentum. 

193. Mamilius : see note on Hor. 96. 

200. vest: robe; see note on Hor. 184. — of purple. . . . By 
Syria's dark-browed daughters : Syria was famous for its purple 
dyes. 

203. sails of Carthage : Carthage, on the northern coast of Africa, 
preceded Rome as the commercial power of the Mediterranean. 

209. false Sextus, etc. : see notes on Hor. 199, 200. 

216. but he: cf. Hor. 355. 

217. A woman : Lucretia. 

225. So spun she and so sang she : this line has been called 
" strangely harsh " ; do you find it so ? 

233. Tibur: by metonymy, the place for the people. — Pedum . . . 
Ferentinum : ancient towns of Latium that early fell into decay. 

236. Gabii : the place where, according to tradition, Romulus was 
brought up. 

237. Volscian : see note on Hor. 561. — succors: called "aids" in 
1. 674. 

250. Apulian : Apulia was a division of southeastern Italy. 

263. Pomptine fog: refers to the Pomptine marshes, low land be- 
tween the mountains and the sea. Macaulay wrote, Jan. 1, 1839: "I 
shall not soon forget the three days which I passed between Rome and 
Naples. As I descended the hill of Velletri, the huge Pontine Marsh 
was spread out below like a sea. I soon got into it ; and, thank God, 
soon got out of it." \_Life and Letters, vol. ii, p. 41.] 

278. Digentian : the Digentia was a small affluent of the Anio. 



THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 133 

288. Fidenae : a city five miles north of Rome, which was frequently 
at war with Rome. 

294. Calabrian : Calabria was a district of southeastern Italy. — 
brake : see dictionary. 

307. pruning among his elms : grape-vines were often trained 
upon elm-trees. 

325. clients : dependents, followers ; plebeians protected by patri- 
cians and bound to render service in return. The relations of patron 
and client were regulated by law. 

347. Titus: cf. 11. 249-252. 

348. bestrode : stood over for protection. In Shakespeare's / Henry 
IV, V. 1, Falstaff says to the prince : " Hal, if thou see me down in 
battle, and bestride me, so ; 't is a point of friendship." 

360. Julian line: the same to which Julius Caesar belonged. 

362. Velian hill : a ridge connecting the Palatine with the Esquiline. 

368. made : is ' make at ' a common expression for ' attack,' 
' assault ' ? 

375. the good house, etc. : Publius Valerius, elected consul in the 
first year of the republic, and three times afterwards, received the sur- 
name Publicola (Poplicola), "friend of the people," on account of his 
advocacy of the rights of the plebeians. The Valerius mentioned here 
was Marcus, his brother. 

383. yeoman : not used in the sense of ' farmer,' but probably as 
members of a bodyguard, like " Yeomen of the Guard " of the English 
sovereign. 

408. wist: imperfect of 'wit,' know. 

412. gnawed the ground : mention another common expression 
similar to this. 

416. Consular : one who had been consul, an ex-consul. 

429. plumed : read in two syllables. 

439. as : as if. — Apennine : see note on Hor. 25. 

441. battle: battle-line. 

444. amain: cf. the meaning here with that in Hor. 392; also cf. 
1. 462. 

480. From Aufidus to Po : i.e. in all Italy, the Aufidus being in far 
southern Italy and the Po far to the north. 

483. war : note the frequent use of this word for ' battle.' 

495. lay on : cf. the familiar " lay on, Macduff," of Macbeth. 

506. head-piece : helmet. 

513. spurning: cf. "and spurning with her foot the ground" in 
Longfellow's The Building of the Ship. 



134 NOTES. 

547. Herminia : daughter of Herminius ; so Virginia, daughter of 
Virginius, Julia, daughter of Julius, etc. 

557. The furies of thy brother : the Furies, called by the Greeks 
Eumenides or Erinnyes, were avenging deities who pursued and pun- 
ished men for their crimes. Here reference is made to the crime of 
Sextus Tarquinius towards Lucretia. 

568. rich Capuan's hall : Capua was the chief city of Campania 
(southeast of Latium), noted for its wealth and luxury. 

569. knees were loosened : a Homeric expression. The knees 
were regarded by the ancients as the seat of bodily strength. 

572. the bravest Tarquin : cf. 11. 251, 252. 

603. Samothracia : an island in the northern part of the Aegean 
sea, where Castor and Pollux were worshipped. 

604. Cyrene : a Greek city in northern Africa. 

605. Tarentum: a Greek city in southern Italy. 

607. Syracuse : the chief city of Sicily, founded by the Dorian Greeks. 

609. Eurotas : a river of Laconia, in southern Greece, on the banks 
of which was Sparta or Lacedaemon. Cf. 11. 29-32. 

619, 620. Ardea . . . Cora : i.e. the men of Ardea and Cora. Cf. 11. 
233-236. 

623. hearth of Vesta : as typical of Rome itself. Vesta was god- 
dess of the hearth and of family life ; also of the city regarded as a 
family. See note on Hor. 229. 

624. Golden Shield : see note on Hor. 81. 
641. battle: i.e. line of battle. Cf. 1. 441. 

646. Celtic : Gallic, the Po being in Cisalpine Gaul. 

649. Sire Quirinus : a name applied to the deified Romulus. 

659, 660. Ferentinum . . . Lanuvium : see notes on 11. 233, 619. 

674. aids: cf. 1. 237. 

689. Sempronius Atratinus : cf. 1. 141. 

692. chair of state : otherwise called the " curule chair," which was 
in shape something like a camp-stool. Cf. Vir. 116, 266. 

695. the Twelve, etc. : see note on Hor. Si. 

699. colleges : the word ' college ' here means simply ' body of asso- 
ciates ' or ' colleagues,' referring to religious bodies. 

716. pricking = spurring, — an antiquated use of the word. 

721. Asylum : Romulus is said to have opened an asylum, or place 
of refuge for people of neighboring states, on the Capitoline hill. 

723. the fire that burns for aye : see notes on Hor. 229 and 1. 623. 

724. the shield: see note on Hor. 8 1 . 

745. Vesta : i.e. the temple of Vesta, " Vesta's fane." 



VIRGINIA. 135 

747. the well : a pool or pond in the forum, called the " lake of 
Juturna." 

760. the Dorians : a division of the Greek people, whose chief city 
was Sparta. 

768. Sit shining on the sails : an allusion to the electrical phenom- 
enon now called " St. Elmo's fire," and to the superstition that asso- 
ciated this phenomenon with the Twin Brethren. 

774. build we : cf. " choose we," 1. 123 and note. — stately dome : 
it is said that Aulus the Dictator during the battle vowed a temple to 
Castor and Pollux. Such a temple was built in the forum opposite the 
temple of Vesta. 

780-796. The worship of the Dioscuri (another name for the Twin 
Brethren) was introduced in Rome at an early period, and this festival 
on the 1 5th of July was continued for several centuries. 

786. Mars : cf. 1. 8. 



VIRGINIA. 



The year of the city CCCLXXXII : b.c. 372. 

2. Tribunes : see Introduction, p. 89, and note on Hor. 267. 

5. fountains running wine : "A familiar touch of fancy in ancient 
legends, as in those of later times." [Rolfe.] 

6. maids with snaky tresses : an allusion, probably, to the story 
of Medusa, whose beautiful hair was changed to hissing serpents on 
account of the jealousy of Minerva. — sailors turned to swine : 
Circe the enchantress "turned to swine" some of the followers of 
Ulysses. 

10. the wicked Ten : those magistrates, called Decemvirs, who 
were appointed in B.C. 451 to codify the laws and to rule the .city tem- 
porarily. They compiled the " Laws of the Twelve Tables," but after- 
wards refused to lay down their office, and treated the people in a 
tyrannical manner. 

14. Twelve axes : see notes on B. L. R. 2 and 132. The axes were 
not to be carried with the fasces within the city limits. 

20. With outstretched chin : what is indicated by this attitude? — 
client : see note on B. I. R. 325. 

23. lying Greeks : as the expression implies, Romans held the 
Greeks in light esteem. 

24. Licinius : see Introduction, pp. 89, 94. 



136 NOTES. 

31. tablets : boards smeared with wax for writing, etc. 
35. Sacred Street : Via Sacra, the principal street of ancient Rome, 
which ran from the Capitol through the forum and beyond. 

37. How for a sport, etc. : find the story in History of Rome. 

38. Lucrece : in Latin Lucretia, wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collati- 
nus, who was a cousin of the king. 

64. Punic : Carthaginian. 

74. The year of the sore sickness : refers to the great plague of 
B.C. 463. Our ancestors of a century or two ago were wont to speak of 
such a time as " the time of the great mortality." 

76. augurs : see note on Hor. 388. 

81. there was no Tribune: all the ordinary offices of state were 
discontinued on the appointment of the Decemvirs. — the word of 
might : a tribune could by his simple veto put a stop to the intended 
action of any other magistrate. See note on Hor. 267. 

83. Licinius : the tribune who carried the famous Licinian laws, by 
which the patricians and plebeians were finally reconciled, the latter 
gaining the right to be elected to the consulship. Cf. 1. 24. — Sextius : 
the first plebeian consul. 

87. Icilius : one of the chief leaders in the outbreak against the 
Decemvirs. Virginia was betrothed to him. 

89. that column : which commemorated the victory of the Horatii 
over the Curiatii in the Alban war during the reign of Tullus Hostilius. 

94. Quirites : the name by which the Romans were addressed as 
citizens and civilians. 

95. Servius : Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, who reformed 
the constitution. — Lucrece : the accent here is on the first syllable. Cf. 
1. 38. So in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, II. 5, "And silence like a 
Lucrece ' knife." 

96. the great vengeance : of course referring to the expulsion of 
the Tarquins. 

97. false sons make red, etc. : Lucius Junius Brutus, the first con- 
sul at Rome, put to death his two sons, who had joined in the attempt 
to restore the Tarquins. 

98. Scaevola : " the left-handed," who, on being condemned to be 
burned alive for an attempt upon the life of King Porsena, thrust his 
right hand into the flames, and held it there without flinching. Read 
the whole account in a Classical Dictionary or History of Rome. 

102. Sacred Hill: see note on B. L. R. 14. 

104. Marcian fury : Caius Marcius Coriolanus, who captured the 
Volscian town Corioli, was much disliked by the plebeians on ac- 



VIRGINIA. 137 

count of his haughty bearing towards them, and was condemned to 
exile, B.C. 491. — Fabian pride : the Fabian family was one of the most 
celebrated of the patrician families for many centuries. Cf. B. L. R. 
356. The reference here is probably to Kaeso (Caeso) Fabius, whose 
troops refused to storm the camp of a defeated enemy, and so to com- 
plete their general's victory and entitle him to the honors of a triumph. 

105. Quinctius : Kaeso (Caeso), son of the famous dictator Lucius 
Quinctius Cincinnatus, was a violent opponent of the plebeians, and was 
driven into banishment. 

106. the haughtiest Claudius: the father, or perhaps the grand- 
father, of Appius, the Decemvir, both of whom were noted for their 
active hostility to the plebeians. One of them was " hustled in the 
Forum in a riot which had been brought on by his overbearing conduct." 

in. No crier to the polling, etc.: i.e. no elections were held. 
112. No Tribune, etc. : see note on 1. 81. 

115. holy fillets: i.e. the priesthood. Fillets were bands of red 
and white wool tied with ribbons, worn by priests and vestals. — 
purple gown : i.e. gown with a purple border, the toga praetexta, worn 
by the higher magistrates. 

116. axes: see notes on 1. 14 and B.L.R. 2, 132. — curule chair: 
see note on B. L. R. 692. — the car : i.e. the triumphal chariot. 

117. press : impress, force into the army. 

120. usance: interest on money; the word in this sense is now 
obsolete. Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice, I. 3, says : " Still have 
you rated me about my moneys and my usances." 

121. haggard debtors: the laws in relation to debtors were very 
harsh and uncompromising, and the debtors were mostly plebeians. 

124. holes for free-born feet : the stocks. 

130. Alban kings : Alba Longa, the most ancient city of Latium, 
is said to have founded Rome. See Introduction to P. C, p. 109, 11. 1-5. 

133. Corinthian mirrors : Corinth in Greece was at this time a 
wealthy commercial city. 

134. Capuan odors : see note on B. L. R. 568. — Spanish gold : 
Spain was noted for its mineral wealth. 

148. great sewer : constructed by Tarquin the Elder, and still in 
use to this day. 

149. whittle : knife for slaughtering cattle. 

152. Farewell, sweet child, etc. : this speech of Virginius is con- 
sidered by some critics to show Macaulay's weakness in dealing with 
the pathetic. It has been called " the weakest part of the poem, and 
in marked contrast to the concise and pregnant lines of the narrative 



138 NOTES. 

elsewhere." The " contrast " is evident enough ; does it show weak- 
ness ? Following are two contrary opinions on this question : " It is a 
singular thing that Macaulay, whose sensibility and genuine tenderness 
of nature are quite beyond doubt, had almost no command of the 
pathetic. . . . Macaulay could not hold the more passionate emotions 
sufficiently at arm's length to describe them properly when he felt them. 
And when they passed, his imagination did not reproduce them with 
a clearness available for art. A man on the point of stabbing his 
daughter to save her from dishonor would certainly not think of mak- 
ing the stagey declamation which Macaulay has put into the mouth of 
V T irginius. The frigid conceits about ' Capua's marble halls,' and the 
kite gloating upon his prey, are the last things that would occur to a 
mind filled with such awful passions." [J. Cotter Morison in English 
Men of Letters, Macaulay, p. 117.] "This is the only passage in the 
volume that can be called — in the usual sense of the word — pathetic. 
It is, indeed, the only passage in which Mr. Macaulay has sought to 
stir up that profound emotion. Has he succeeded ? We hesitate not 
to say that he has, to our heart's desire. . . . This effect has been 
wrought simply by letting the course of the great natural affections 
flow on, obedient to the promptings of a sound, manly heart, unimpeded 
and undiverted by any alien influences, such as are but too apt to steal 
in upon inferior minds when dealing imaginatively with severe trouble, 
and to make them forget, in the indulgence of their own self-esteem, 
what a sacred thing is misery." [Professor Wilson in Blackwood's 
Magazine, vol. lii, p. 819.] 

157. civic crown : a chaplet of oak-leaves with acorns, presented to 
a Roman soldier who had saved the life of a comrade in battle and 
slain his opponent. 

182. Volscians : see note on Hor. 561. 

184. leech: surgeon. Cf. " leech-craft," 1. 119. 

193. the nether gloom: the under-world, where dwelt the shades 
{manes) of the dead. Cf. 1. 127. 

200. Sacred Street: see note on 1. 35. 

202. Ten thousand pounds of copper: for four or five centuries 
after the founding of Rome copper was the only metal used for money, 
and even this, in the early times, was not coined, but passed by weight. 

203. clients : see note on B. L. R. 325. 

204. lictors : see note on B. L. R. 2. 

213. cypress : an evergreen tree, sacred to Pluto, and a sign of 
death and mourning. 

223. yeomen : see note on B. L. R. 383. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 139 

228. Pincian Hill . . . Latin Gate : i.e. remotely to north and south. 

232. breaking up of benches: what for? 

242. Tribunes : the cry now is for the restoration of the tribunes; 
see note on 1. 81. 

249. Caius of Corioli : Caius Marcius Coriolanus ; see note on 
1. 104. 

251. yoke: conquered enemies were forced to "pass under the 
yoke," which consisted of two spears set upright in the ground with a 
third laid across them. The word "yoke" in 1. 256 is used in its more 
common sense. — Furius : Marcus Furius Camillus, the greatest gen- 
eral of his time, who took Veii, and drove out the Gauls from the 
Roman territory, B.C. 390. He was five times dictator. 

257. Cossus : the most celebrated man of this name was Sergius 
Cornelius Cossus, who (B.C. 428) killed the king of Veii in single 
combat. 

258. Fabius : see second note on 1. 104. — chase : hunters. 

266. put their necks beneath: cf. " High on the necks of slaves," 
Hor. in. 

268. staves : sticks or clubs, plural of ' staff.' 

269. or staff or sword : either staff or sword. 

277. Calabrian : cf. B. L. R. 294. 

278. Thunder Cape : the promontory Acroceraunium on the coast 
of Epirus, opposite the Calabrian coast of Italy. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 

The year of the city CCCCLXXIX : b.c. 275. 

2. Sylvian : descended from Sylvius (Silvius), son of Ascanius and 
grandson of Aeneas, to whom and his followers the Romans liked to 
refer their ancestry. All the Alban kings had the cognomen Silvius. 

3. Alba Longa: see note on Vir. 130. 

4. Aventine : according to one tradition Aventinus was an Alban 
king, who was buried on the hill which took his name. 

7. The children : Romulus and Remus. 

8. The mother : Rhea Silvia. 

23. the dead are living: in allusion to the supposed death and 
subsequent discovery of the twins. 
25. bloody king: seel. 1. 



140 NOTES. 

26. lying priest : see 1. 5. 

27. raging flood : the Tiber. 

34. yellow foam : cf. Hor. 98, 466. 

37. The ravening she-wolf : cf. Hor. 360. 

48. grandsire : Numitor. 

58. horse-hair : the helmet plume. 

71. holy fillets: see note on Vir. 115. 

95. From head to foot he trembled : he was becoming inspired with 
prophetic fervor. 

106. vines clasp many a tree: see note on B. L. R. 307. 

no. Tartessian : from Tartessus, an ancient town of Spain, proba- 
bly the same as Tarshish of the Bible. See second note on Vir. 134. 

112. Libyan: African. Libya, the Greek name for Africa* was 
often used for Africa itself. 

115, 116. Arabia . . . Sidon : in allusion to the various cosmetics 
and dyes brought from those places. 

123. sprung from the War-god's loins : the father of Romulus 
was said to be the war-god Mars. 

125. From sunrise unto sunset : does this expression refer to place 
or time ? 

128. and name it by thy name : it was a popular but erroneous 
belief that the name Rome was derived from Romulus. 

130. Vesta's sacred fire: the fire on the altar of Vesta was kept 
continually burning. See notes on Hor. 229, B. L. R. 623, 723. 

149. Pomona : goddess of fruits. 

150. Liber: ancient Italian divinity, patron of agriculture, later 
identified with the Greek Bacchus or Dionysus. 

151. Pales : the divinity of flocks and shepherds. 
153. Venus : goddess of love. 

169. the soft Campanian : cf. note on " some rich Capuan's hall," 
B. L. R. 568. 

171. Tyre: see note on 1. 235. 

173. Carthage : see note on B. L. R. 203. 

175. Leave to the Greek, etc. : the pursuits of sculpture and litera- 
ture are here considered effeminate in comparison with warlike pursuits. 

177-184. As is well known, the Romans for many centuries excelled 
in all the arts of war. 

177. pilum: the javelin (the peculiar weapon of the Roman legion- 
ary soldier) consisted of a heavy wooden shaft about four feet long, 
into the end of which was inserted an iron shank about two feet long 
ending in a barbed or flat heart-shaped point. 



THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 141 

184. Jove's eternal fane : on the Capitoline hill. 

185. Volscian : see note on Hor. 561, and cf. Vir. 182. 

186. vail: the word means 'to lower,' not 'to cover.' Cf. Mer- 
chant of Venice, I. 1, " Vailing her high top lower than her ribs." 

187. Soft Capua: cf. "soft Campanian," 1. 169. 

189. Lucumoes : see note on Hor. 185. — Arnus : a river of Etruria. 

190. rods : i.e. the fasces, symbols of power ; see note on B. L. R. 2. 

191. proud Samnite : three wars were waged by the Romans against 
the Samnites, a race of central Italy. 

193. Gaul : Rome was destroyed by the Gauls in B.C. 390, but was 
rebuilt. 

195. fair-haired : cf. note on Hor. 37. 

197. The Greek : what Greek general in particular was " the con- 
queror of the East " ? 

The bard now reaches the events which this Lay is intended particu- 
larly to celebrate, namely, the war with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. 

200. huge earth-shaking beast, etc. : see Introduction, p. in, 1. 27. 

205. Epirotes : men of Epirus, a division of northern Greece. 

206. Wedged close with shield and spear : referring to the famous 
Macedonian phalanx. 

209. false Tarentum: see Introduction, pp. 109, no. 

225. great triumph: i.e. the triumphal procession; cf. 11. 181-184. 

230. the Red King: the name Pyrrhus is derived from a Greek 
word meaning ' fire,' and originally meant ' flame-colored ' or ' red.' 

232. gown washed white: see Introduction, p. no, 1. 18. 

235. rich dye of Tyre: Tyre in Syria produced and exported large 
quantities of a purple or crimson dye obtained from a species of shell- 
fish. Cf. 11. 171, 172, also 1. 116. 

235-248. It should be remembered that in a triumphal procession 
the spoils of war were carried before the commander for the people to 
gaze upon. 

249. Manius Curius : see Introduction, p. in, 1. 32. 

254. embroidered gown : a general when celebrating a triumph 
wore the toga picta, "embroidered gown," and also the tunica palmata, 
an undergarment with embroidery representing palm-branches. 

256. green crown : a wreath of laurel. 

257. Rosea : a district of central Italy. 

259. the bull: for sacrifice at the altar of Jupiter. — Mevania : an 
ancient town in Umbria, celebrated for its breed of white oxen; cf. 
Hor. 55. 

264. Sacred Way : see note on Vir. 35. 



142 NOTES. 

266. Suppliant's Grove : There were said to be two groves in the 
depression between the two summits of the Capitoline hill, 

269. o'er two bright havens, etc. : the situation of Corinth on an 
isthmus explains the expression. 

271. gigantic King of Day : the famous colossal statue of the sun- 
god. It is said that at Rhodes (southwest of Asia Minor) there is hardly 
a day in the year when the sun is not visible. 

273. Orontes : the principal river of Syria. 

276. dark-red colonnades : made of the "dark-red " Egyptian gran- 
ite, a specimen of which may now be seen in Central Park, New York. 

280. Byrsa : the citadel of Carthage. 

283. the sand of morning-land : probably referring to Arabia. 

285. Atlas: the mountain in northwestern Africa. 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF PROPER 
NAMES. 

(English Method.) 



Note. — ae = e ; eu = u; ia, iu, and the like are generally run together in one 
syllable ; thus Ho-ra'tius — Ho-ra'-shus. 



A' dri a 

Ae bu' ti us (t = 

Ae ga' tes 

Ae mil' i us 

Al' ba Lon'ga 

Al bin' i a 

Al ex an' der 

Al' gi dus 

Al' pine 

Al ver' nus 

Am mi a.' nus 

A mu' li us 

An chi' ses 

An dro ni' cus 

A' ni 5 

An tig' o nus 

Anx' ur 

Ap' en nine 

Ap' pi us 

A pol' 15 

A pol lo d5' rus 

A pu' li an 

Ar' de a 

A ri' ci a (rish) 

Ar pi' num 

Ar re' ti um (t = 

A' runs 

As' tur 



sh) 



sh) 



A sy' lum 
A til' i us 
At ra ti' nus 
At' ti la 
Au' fi dus 
Au gus' tus 
Au' lus 
Au' nus 
Au' ser 
Aus' ter 
Av' en tine 

Bac ehl' a dae 
Bac' ehus 
Ban du' si a (zhi) 
Ben e ven' turn 
Bru' tus 
Byr' sa (Bur) 

C, ae' s5 
Ca' i us 
Ca la' bri an 
Cal' vus 
Ca me' ri um 
Ca' mers 
Ca mil' lus 
Cam pa' ni a 
Cap i to li' nus 
143 



Cap' u a 

Ca' pys 

Car' thage 

Cas' tor 

Ca'to 

Cat' ii lus 

£ic' e ro 

C, il' ni us 

C, i min' i an 

Qm cin na' tus 

£in' e as 

gir' rha 

Cla' nis 

Clau' di us 

Cli turn' nus 

Cloe' li a 

Clu' si um (zhi) 

Co' cles 

Co los' sus 

Co mi' ti um (mish) 

Co'ra 

Cor' inth 

Co ri o la' nus 

Co ri' o II 

Cor' ne 

Cor ne' li us 

Cor to' na 

Cor' vus 



144 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 



Co' sa 

Cos' sus 

Cras' sus 

Crem' e ra 

Cris' pus 

Croe' sus 

Crus tu me' ri um 

Cu ri a' ti I (t = sh) 

Cu' ri us 

Cur' sor 

Cur' ti us (t =sh) 

£yp' se lus 

£y re' ne 

De' ci us (c = sh) 

Del' phi 

De moph' i lus 

De mos' the nes 

Den ta' tus 

Di gen' ti an (t = sh) 

Di 6 ny' si us (nish) 

DI 5 ny' sus 

DI os cu' ri 

Do mi' ti an (mish) 

D5' ri ans 

Du il' i us 

E ge' ri a 
El' va 
En' ni us 
E pi' rdtes 
E tru' ri a 
E trus' can 
Eu rip' i des 
Eu r5' tas 

Fa' bi us 

Fa bri' ci us (brish) 

Fa le' ri I 

Faus' tu lus 

Faus' tus 



Fer en ti' num 
Fi de' nae 
Flac' cus 
Fla' vi us 
Flo' rus 
Fron ti' nus 
Fu' ri us 

Ga' bi I 

Ha mil' car 
Han' no 
Her' cu les 
Her min' i a 
Her min' i us 
He rod' o tus 
He' si od (s = sh) 
H5 ra' ti I (t = sh) 
H5 ra' ti us (t = sh) 
Hos til' i us 
Hos' tus 

I cil' i us 
II' i ad 
II' va 
I tal' i cus 
Ix I' on 

Ja nic' u lum 
Ju' li us 
Ju' n5 

Kae' so 

La9 e dae' mon 

La nu' vi um 

Lars 

Lar' ti us (t = sh) 

Lat er a' nus 

La' ti an (t = sh) 

Lat' ines 



Lau ren' turn 

Lau' su lus 

La vin' i um 

Le'da 

LI' ber 

Lib' yan 

Li cin' i us 

Liv' i us 

Lu' can 

Lu' 9e res 

Lu 91I' i us 

Lu' ci us (c = sh) 

Lu crece' 

Lu ere' ti a (t = sh) 

Lu' cu mo 

Lu' na 

Lus ci' nus 

Lu ta' ti us (t = sh) 

Lys' i as (lish) 

Ma mil' i us 
Ma' ni us 
Man' li us 
Mar eel II' nus 
Mar' cus 
Mars 

Mar' ti al (shal) 
Mas sil' i a 
Max' i mus 
Me gel' lus 
Me nan' der 
Me' ti us (t = sh) 
Met' tus 
Me va' ni a 
Mu' ci us (c = sh) 
Mu rae' na 

Nae' vi us 
Nar 
Ne' pos 
Ne qui' num 



OF PROPER NAMES. 



145 



No men' turn 
Nor' ba 
Nu' ma 
Nii' mi tor 
Nur' sci a (shia) 

Oc' nus 
Od' ys sey 
O ron' tes 
Os' tia 

Pal' a tine 
Pal' a ti' nus 
Pa' leg 
Pa pir' i us 
Par me' ni 5 
Par the' ni us 
Pa tro' clus 
Pe' dum 
Per i an' der 
Per' sevis 
Pic' tor 
Pi' cus 

Pin' ci an (c = sh) 
Pi' sae 
Plau' tus # 
Pie be' ian 
Plu' tarch 
Pol' lux 
Po lyb' i us 
Po mo' na 
Pomp' tine 
Pop lie' o la 
Pop u 15' ni a 
Por' ci an (c = sh) 
Por' se na 
Pos thu' mi us 
Pub' li us 
Pyr' rhus 

Quinc til' i an 
Quinc' ti us (t = sh) 



Quin ti' lis 
Quin' tus 
Qui ri' tes 
Qui ri' nus 

Ram' ni an 
Re gil' lus 
Reg' ii lus 
Re' mus 
Rex 
Rhe'a 
Rhodes 
Rome 
Rom' u lus 
R6' se a 

Sa' bines 

Sam' nite 

Sam o thra' ci a (c = sh) 

Sar din' i a 

Sar pe' don 

Scaev' o la 

Se' i us 

Sem prd' ni us 

Ser' gi us 

Ser' vi us 

Se' ti a (t = sh) 

Sex ti' nus 

Sex' ti us 

Sex' tus 

Sib' yl line 

Sic' ci us (c = sh) 

Si' don 

Sil' i us 

Soph' o cles 

So rac' te 

Spu' ri us 

Sto' 15 

Su' tri um 

Syl' vi an 

Syr' a cuse 

Syr' i a 



Tac' i tus 

Ta ren' turn 

Tar pe' ia 

Tar' quin 

Tar tes' si an (s = sh) 

The oc' ri tus 

Thras' y mene 

Thu cyd' i des 

Ti' ber 

Ti' bur 

Ti fer' num 

Ti' ti an (t = sh) 

Ti' tus 

To lum' ni us 

Tii' be r5 

Tul' li a 

Tul' lus 

Tus' cu lum 

Tyre 

U' fens 
Um' bri an 
Um' bro 
Ur'g5 

Va le' ri us 

Var' ro 

Ve' ii (yi) 

Ve' li an 

Ve li' trae 

Vel le' ius 

Ve' nus 

Ver ben' na 

Ves' ta 

Vir gin' i a 

Vir gin' i us 

Vol a ter' rae 

Vol' e rd 

Vol' sci an (shan) 

Vol sin' i an 

Vol sin' i um 

Vul' s5 



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